Navajo Sterling Silver Lidded Pill Box with Turquoise Gemstone [SOLD]

This Navajo small silver pill box is almost square in shape and has stamped designs on the lid highlighted by a single turquoise gemstone in its center.  Simple silver stamped designs were placed to highlight the turquoise. The lid is attached with two handmade silver hinges and there is a snap button to secure the lid.

Sterling silver small boxes were made by Diné silversmiths as items to sell to tourists and collectors.  They were probably encouraged by traders and merchants to make them, as they would appeal to potential buyers.

Silver boxes could be used for storing pharmaceuticals, small jewelry items, or simply for display.  They were very popular in the mid-twentieth century but do not seem to be made by the Diné any longer.  Vintage silver boxes have become very collectible.

Condition: this Navajo Sterling Silver Lidded Pill Box with Turquoise Gemstone is in very good condition

Provenance: from the extensive silver collection of a client from Washington, DC

Recommended Reading:

- Navajo and Pueblo Jewelry and Metalwork 1880-1950 by Robert Bauver

- Masterworks and Eccentricities: The Druckman Collection

- Beesh Ligaii In Balance: The Besser Collection Of Navajo And Pueblo Silverwork by John Torres-Nez

Relative Links: Diné of the Navajo Nation, Southwest Indian Jewelry: Silver Objects