Mosaic Inlay Reversible Pendant with Cardinal and Hummingbird [SOLD]

The son of a Zuni jeweler, Jacob Haloo, and a Navajo mother, Lolap Haloo, Jake Livingston was born in Pinehaven, NM in 1946. After returning from Vietnam in the early 1970s, where he received three *Purple Heart medals, Livingston first worked as a Navajo tribal policeman. He studied the Zuni style of mosaic inlay with master craftsman Dennis Edaakie and soon began working full time as a jeweler. He has been creating prize winning works of wearable art ever since. Frequently working with his wife Irene, he is the recipient of First Place and Best of Division awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market multiple times and his work is found in Lois Jacka’s book Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone.

The exquisite work on this classic reversible pendant features a coral cardinal on one side and a luminous hummingbird on the other. Livingston used the stones as a painter would use paint to fashion his images. The cardinal is perched on a branch that is comprised of miniscule segments of jet along with coral and turquoise blossoms that he etched to achieve additional contour. The hummingbird hovers above a turquoise bloom with etched jet wings. A border of fine stampwork surrounds each bird. The pendant spins within a circular frame of silver. The pendant is signed inside the frame with the hallmark “J-I Livingston” indicating that Jake’s wife Irene collaborated with him on the piece.

Condition: The Mosaic Inlay Reversible Pendant with Cardinal and Hummingbird is in excellent condition. There is a patina that comes with age and could be polished if desired.

Provenance: From the Southwest Indian Jewelry collection of a client from Maryland

Recommended Reading: Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone by Lois Jacka

*Note: The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.