Navajo Ring with Rectangular Turquoise Stone and Silver Dots [SOLD]

The earliest Diné jewelers usually learned the art of jewelry making from clan or family members. They were creating silver items for use among themselves and their neighbors and it didn’t make sense to teach the skill to someone who could eventually become their competition.

The coming of the railroad changed that. Demand by travelers along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad for jewelry compelled traders to hire master craftsman to teach the skill to more and more Native artisans to meet the burgeoning demand for souvenirs. The earliest designs were elegant and uncomplicated. Silver was used to bring attention to the beauty of turquoise stones. Classic designs consisted of silver drops and twisted wire framing high grade cabochons of turquoise.

This rectangular turquoise stone ring is characteristic of items made in the mid twentieth century to sell to the Southwestern adventurer.  The turquoise was  set in a straight-edged bezel with silver drops on either side. The crown of the ring rests on a three-prong shank. The ring was very well crafted and, as was customary at the time, is unsigned.

Condition: The Navajo Ring with Rectangular Turquoise Stone and Silver Dots is in very good condition

Provenance: From an extensive Southwest Indian Jewelry collection in Colorado

Recommended Reading:  

- Navajo Silver: A Brief History of Navajo Silver by Arthur Woodward

- Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers by Margery Bedinger

- Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths by John Adair

Relative Links: Navajo-Diné, jewelry making, Southwest Indian Jewelry