Beads and jewels


Native Indian Jewelry Making - Navajo Silver Jewelry

Native Indian jewelry, especially of thethat helped spread the craft of
Navajo and Zuni variety,is generatingsilversmithing. Being of a nomadic nature,
increasing interest for its beautiful andthe Navajo came frequently into contact with
stunning design and workmanship. It is basedthe Spanish in the south-west from about the
on a tradition that is not that long, goinglate 16th century. There were clashes and
back to about the middle of the 19th century.sometimes friendly association. The Spanish
The emphasis here is on the silverwork thatpersonal ornaments and adornments fascinated
is employed in the making of the jewelry.the Indians. And they began to copy or
There is a fascinating history which is worthassimilate the Spanish style and began to
looking into. It is an American legacy of thewear ornaments made from so-called German
native Indians, from the time of the Spanishsilver. But silversmithing, using real
Conquest. So in that sense it is a traditionsilver,  was  not  yet  within  their  grasp.
that goes back to the founding times of
America.Though the history is not completely certain,
it is generally thought that the first Navajo
Native American Indian jewelry was, and is,silversmith was Atsidi Sani (also known as
generally classified into two main types -"Old Smith"), and the making of silver
beadwork and metalwork. Beadwork has a longerjewelry started in th 1860s. Atsidi Sani was
history stretching back to pre-Colombianamong some 8000 of the Navajo tribe who were
times. It concentrated on the use of naturalcaptured and imprisoned at Fort Sumner in New
materials, and semi-precious gemstones, suchMexico in 1864 to 1868. It seems that by the
as shells and turquoise, animal bones andend of the captivity, Atsidi Sani learned the
ivory.art of silversmithing. The art was
transmitted to his sons, and spread to the
In this article, I am concentrating onZuni in around 1872. Atsidi Chon (known also,
metalwork jewelry making. Because the skillsperhaps descriptively, as "Ugly Smith")
and techniques of fashioning metal were nottaught his Zuni friend Lanyade the skill of
advanced until after the arrival of themaking silver. The Navajo style was passed on
Europeans on the American continent, theto the Hopi, when they in turn learned making
metalwork jewelry was, prior to that period,silver  jewelry  from  the  Zuni.
of relatively simple order. Iron and copper
were used, so was brass and later silver. TheIn the early days, the source of silver was
technique was by manual hammering andMexican and U.S. coins. The U.S. coins, being
etching. The fashioning of silver byreadily available and of good quality, were
silversmiths came after silversmithing wasoften used. In 1890 a law was passed
introduced  by  the  Spaniards.prohibiting the melting of U.S. coins, but
that was more often honored in the breach
The influence was on the south-west of thethan  observance.
American continent. In fact, it was the
Mexicans first who learned the skill ofThe emblematic piece of Navajo or
silversmithing from the Spanish invaders.Navajo-style jewelry is the squash blossom
After the native Indians learned it from thenecklace. This was actually adopting the
Mexicans, their skill gradually grew and hasSpanish crescent-shaped "naja" as the
developed into the intricate use of silvercenterpiece of the necklace. The crescent was
with gemstones like turquoise, withitself a legacy of Moorish influence upon the
distinctive designs that are stunninglySpanish. Muslim Spain had a history of almost
eye-catching.800 years from 711-1492, with a flourishing
culture.
The Navajo are credited with being the tribe



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