Diné Round Screw Back Silver Earrings with Stamped Thunderbird Design [SOLD]

These Navajo silver earrings each feature a stamped thunderbird set on a pressed circular base. The two pieces were then forged together by hand by a Diné silversmith. The base consists of an elegant circular shape outlined by small raised silver drops. The stamped thunderbird is framed by a section pressed to resemble twisted wire. The earrings are screw back, a style associated with the 1930s and 1940s. 

During the 1940s, the American Southwest was a popular travel destination. The high demand for small pieces of jewelry to sell to tourists visiting Indian Country was sometimes met by the traders taking shortcuts. Popular designs such as arrows and thunderbirds were mass-produced. Bench workers would then be given pressed out silver pieces that could quickly be assembled.  While not 100% handmade, they are a genuine part of Americana, items made for sale along Route 66, for travelers to take home as a souvenir of their trip to New Mexico and Arizona. 

Note: when we say Diné, as opposed to Navaho or Navajo, we are referring to the people and not the government.  Since 1969, their government refers to itself as the Navajo Nation.

Condition: The Diné Round Screw Back Silver Earrings with Stamped Thunderbird Design are in excellent condition. 

Provenance: From the collection of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading:

- Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico by Jonathan Batkin;

- Skystone and Silver: The Collector’s Book of Southwestern Indian Jewelry by Carl Rosnek

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