Magnificent Diné Silver and Turquoise Squash Blossom Necklace

Cross-Cultural Inspirations:

The Evolution and Influence of Diné Squash Blossom Necklaces

The silver and turquoise squash blossoms on this mid-century necklace have silver platforms to support the turquoise gemstones. An unknown Diné of the Navajo Nation artist created 8 blossom elements and with a solitary cabochon, all with high-grade turquoise of a beautiful dark blue with copper matrix. The turquoise in this necklace is extraordinarily stunning. To counteract boredom and similarity, the artisan fashioned each turquoise to be different in size and shape. At the center of the necklace is a naja with five turquoise gemstones. Each is settled with a silver bezel and attached to a silver backing that is outlined with twisted silver wire, small silver drops, and a silver bar that curves around the gemstone and ends in a loop.

Sometime in the history of Native American jewelry from the Southwest, someone named a necklace, such as this one, a "squash blossom" necklace. Technically, the blossoms attached to the necklace were derived from the pomegranate! The area with turquoise cabs that looks like a blossom and the silver protrusions were copied from silver pomegranate blossoms seen on the trousers of the vaqueros (cowboys) from Spain and Mexico. Regardless of the name, these have been among the most popular Native American necklaces for decades, certainly as early as the 1880s.

The naja suspended as a pendant on the necklace was another item lifted from visitors to the Southwest—Spaniards who rode their magnificent horses with elaborate harness hardware which included a naja draped over the forehead of the horse. The naja originally came from the Moors. So, the necklace is a combination of favored items from the vaqueros and their horses.

Squash Blossom necklaces are a testimony to the genius of Diné artisans who took motifs and design elements from other cultures and made them their own.

We may think that silversmithing among the Diné existed hundreds of years ago, but actually it got its start in 1868 "When Mexican silversmiths came to trade their silver jewelry for blankets or livestock. Some of the early Navajo silversmiths had already learned blacksmithing and were making things such as knives and bridle bits. One of these men was Atsida Sani (Old Smith). He is considered the first Navajo silversmith, having been taught the skill by the Mexican smith known to the Navajo as Nakai Tsosi (Thin Mexican)." [El Palacio 2021:79]

So, what we think of as United States Indigenous art was influenced by the Moors, Spanish, and Mexicans, but now it is to us a representation of the creativity and cleverness of our Native peoples, particularly the Diné of the Navajo Nation, and their beautiful jewelry creations.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Magnificent Diné Silver and Turquoise Squash Blossom Necklace is from the inheritance of a family from New Mexico

Reference: El Palacio, Winter 2021, Vol. 126, No.4

TAGS: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Navajo, necklace