Hand-tooled silver cigarette box with a sun kachina figure inlaid on top / Native American; Zuni
Essay/Description
Stamped silver box with a figure on top. Figure is inlayed with turquoise, jet, mother of pearl and coral.
Silverworking began after contact with the Spanish, from whom the Navajo stole and traded. By the 1870s, Navajo silversmiths were making jewelry from silver and learning to set stones, particularly turquoise. The Zunis eventually also began creating silver jewelry and created more delicate and detailed designs with turquoise (Furst and Furst 1982, 37-38).