Ethnographic Objects

Kravis Discovery Center

Anthropology

1876 - 1900

1901 - 1925

adornment

Indian

Indians

jewelry

Native American

Navajo

Navajo Indians

southwest

United States of America

Ring

84-2059_o2.jpg

Navajo Silver

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Native American; possibly Navajo (Diné)

Anthropology Item Information

The Navajo use primarily silver and turquoise to make jewelry. To the Southwest tribes and even parts of Mexico, turquoise’s color symbolized “the blue of water and the green of growing vegetation, essential conditions for life” (Furst and Furst 1982, 37). 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).

Silver ring with turquoise inset