Early Zuni Five Row Square Cut Turquoise Ring [SOLD]

Around 1900, Zuni Pueblo artisans, known for centuries as the finest lapidary workers, began to set cut and shaped pieces of turquoise into silver. Around 1920, artists began to use a method referred to as petit point jewelry, named after the popular embroidery style of the time. Small pieces of stone were cut and set into silver to create beautiful designs.

This early ring features multiple colored turquoise stones cut in small squares. The skilled artist precisely cut the stones to both fit the small bezels, and shaped to correspond with the curved shape of a finger. The ring is unsigned and dates to the 1930s or 1940s. There is a small area where the bezel is bent, but the stone is still secure on the ring.

Condition: Other than one bent bezel, the Early Zuni Five Row Square Cut Turquoise Ring is in very good condition

Provenance: From a Colorado Southwest Indian Jewelry jewelry collection

Recommended Reading: Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths by John Adair