Navajo Single Oval Turquoise Cabochon Jewelry Ring [SOLD]

This mid-century ring contains a brilliant blue turquoise gemstone set in what is considered a traditional Navajo setting. The beauty of this oval sky blue turquoise is highlighted by an elegant sawtooth bezel that is set in a frame of textured silver. The crown of the ring rests on a split shank that has a small silver applique at the top. Much of the texture of the silver has been worn to a soft sheen by decades of wear.

While most usually assume that the traditional single stone surrounded by a silver setting is distinctly Diné, the style has its roots long before the first Diné silversmith set a nugget of turquoise in silver. Arthur Woodward in his book A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing writes:

“The first rings obtained by the Navajo were the same as those worn of the Plains. In turn these cheap brass or German silver finger adornments were patterned after those issued to the Eastern Tribes. The long, oval bezel of plain or etched silver was a favorite among the Iroquois and Delaware. It found ready favor among the Dakota. The Navajo adopted it. The early rings used east of the Mississippi were in brass and then of good coin silver. On the Plains they were brass or German silver. As a matter of fact, during the first sixty years of the 19th century, the trade rings were frequently set with colored glass. Oddly enough, the method of setting the first turquoise in rings, by Navajo smiths, was the same as that was used in the setting of glass paste jewels in the trade jewelry sold by white traders to the various tribesman during the first half of the 19th century, namely by the use of a series of tiny, triangular prongs which gave a rather pleasing effect to the surface of the inset.”

This ring is signed in script G Begay. We have been unable to find any information about this artist.

Condition: The Navajo Single Oval Turquoise Cabochon Jewelry Ring is in very good condition. There is evidence of wear and use which gives it a beautiful luster and patina.

Provenance: From a member of the Maisel family, long-time merchants of Albuquerque. Adobe Gallery has just learned that after 42 years of business, the owner of Skip Maisel’s Indian Jewelry & Crafts is retiring and closing his iconic store on Central in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque.

Reference: Woodward Arthur.  A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Diné - Navajo Nation, Jewelry Rings