North America
Prior to European contact, copper, turquoise, shell, and bone were fashioned into jewelry—bracelets, armbands, pectorals, necklaces, and earrings. These items and thematerials from which they were made, were highly valued and were often traded over vast distances. After contact, Native peoples learned how to work silver and inlay precious stones, developing new styles of jewelry both for internal use and for sale. In the Southwest, Navajo
and Pueblo peoples made silver squash blossom necklaces, bracelets and rings featuring turquoise, coral and jet, and necklaces from melon and olive shell heishi. In the Northwest Coast, dentalium shells were traditionally used and continue to be fashioned into necklaces and earrings. In the mid eighteenth-century Russian traders introduced glass trade beads and Northwest Coast artists decorated silver jewelry with crest and clan designs, mirroring the elaborate decorative traditions of the region.
Navajo Couple by Ray Tidd (1918-1990)
c. 1983
HM4506
Cheyenne Man’s Earring
c.1870
This Plains dangle earring includes German Silver, Cornaline d’Aleppo
beads, brass tacks and dentalia and abalone shell from the Northwest
Coast.
Cheyenne German Silver Pectoral
c. 1860
Cheyenne German Silver Dragonfly Cross
c. 1870
The cross has a talisman attached to it–a piece from a ring and pin game.
The game consists of a string of deer phalangeal bones (toe bones found
above the hoof). The bones are pierced and are “speared” with a metal
pin.
Cheyenne German Silver Arm Bands
c. 1870
Trade Bead Necklace
c. 1880
Europeans exchanged trade beads with Indigenous peoples around the
world. The red beads are Cornaline d’Aleppo–white heart or Hudson’s
Bay beads which were exchanged for furs in North America.
Tlingit Necklace
c. 1880
This necklace features elk incisors, copper beads and tubes, and glass
trade beads.
Haida Silver Eagle Bracelet
c. 1900
The eagle is not rendered using the design rules of Northwest Coast art,
but rather in the style of the Great Seal of the United States.
Makah Silver Bracelet
c. 1900
This bracelet was acquired in Neah Bay, Washington State.
Navajo Squash Blossom Necklace
c. 1960
This traditional style necklace features Kingman turquoise.
Navajo Bracelet
c. 1960
Navajo Squash Blossom Necklace
c. 1940
This necklace features Mercury dimes—a practice that was common
during the 1940s when silver was rationed during World War II.
Penobscot Medicine Cuff
2021
By Jason Brown, Penobscot
Created in .935 Argentium silver, 24kt gold, brown ash, lapis, malachite
and green opal, this cuff is a visual representation of healing. The leaf,
inlaid in malachite, Argentium silver and green opal is seen floating in
the water, represented by lapis. Both plants and water are held in high
regard amongst Wabanaki people for their healing energies and necessity
for life as we know it. The setting that holds the stones takes its
inspiration from traditional Wabanaki design patterns. The foundation
for this piece is the cuff which is cut with stylized Wabanaki designs and
set with 24kt gold gilded brown ash which has been hand woven. The use of ash is important as it is the tree the Wabanaki were created from.
The use of gold not only adds beauty as a metal but is symbolic of our
connection to the stars and creation as all gold found on Earth came here
from distant galaxies. Jason Brown