Diné Silver and Turquoise Hand Made Ring [SOLD]

This ring is stamped on the interior HAND MADE STERLING. There is no artisan's name. Native American jewelers did not originally sign their name to their works, but eventually it became an acceptable practice. When visitors began arriving on the newly scheduled AT&SF train to New Mexico in 1880, interest in jewelry outstripped the availability.

Businesses developed in response to the need for Native jewelry. Most of those businesses hired Navajo and Pueblo artisans to make jewelry which the merchants then marketed. To distinguish between "machine made" jewelry, which some of the merchants were offering, others stamped the jewelry "hand made". This Diné of the Navajo Nation turquoise ring could be one of those from the enterprising merchants of Albuquerque-Maisel's and Sun Bell.

AT&SF: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (reporting mark ATSF), often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the railroad reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado, in 1876. To create a demand for its services, the railroad set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that it was awarded by Congress. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult; the town ultimately was reached by a branch line from Lamy.

Real Simple: How to Measure Your Ring Size at Home  (This will take you to another website)

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Diné Silver and Turquoise Hand Made Ring is from a private collection

Reference: Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry: Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government by Messier and Messier

TAGS: Jewelry Ring, Navajo Nation, Southwest Indian Jewelry