Santo Domingo Turquoise Heishi Necklace with Coral Accents

Fashioned by a Santo Domingo artist nearly 100 years ago, turquoise nuggets and pieces of seam material were flattened on opposing sides, drilled from each side halfway to the middle, then through.  These drilled pieces were lined up and strung on a wire.  From this point the artist proceded to round exposed outsides edges of each bead against an abrasive surface, creating the relatively uniform and slightly rounded disks you see.

The same process was applied to each piece of branch coral used to make the attractive fineals where the strand is tied off and a hand-made wire clasp of silver is attached.

This wonderful necklace has a lot of surface character and retains the satin finish originally given it by the artist.  That soft whisp of sheen is what gives this necklace a certain pleasing intimacy and attraction, characteristics that will continue to improve over time.

"Unknown artist" is appropriate when a work of art is unsigned and a supported opinion about who made it is not available (on Savvy Collector).. "Attributed to" precedes the name of an artist when information suggests that it likely was made by that artist (on Savvy Collector).