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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).

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Title(s): 
Hand-tooled silver cigarette box with a sun kachina figure inlaid on top
Culture: 
Native American; Zuni
Date: 
20th century
Period: 
Historic
Materials/Techniques: 
silver, turquoise, jet, mother of pearl, coral
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.2014
Department: 
Not On View

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