Navajo Turquoise and Heavy Gauge Coin Silver Flatware Salad Service

Handmade silver salad service was popular before the Great Depression but suffered from that time on. Revival of interest caused the Diné to start making them again sometime following World War II.

This set was made from heavy gauge coin silver most probably in the 1960s. The tines of the fork and the bowl of the spoon are beautifully stamped, but the true artwork is on the handles, where the artisan expressed his talent. The silver handles have depressions resembling a dry riverbed and there are areas of ridged edges of coins still visible. 

Triangular-shaped ocean blue turquoise cabochons were placed in silver bezels near the end of the handles.

This salad service set matches the set of 9 teaspoons on our site, Item #C4336B. The same artisan made them for the same client.

Condition: this Navajo Turquoise and Heavy Gauge Coin Silver Flatware Salad Service is in excellent original condition

Provenance:  from the estate of Hilda Street, former owner of The Streets of Taos, an Indian art gallery at 200 Canyon Road in Santa Fe.  Hilda commissioned this set from a Diné artist in the 1960s.

Recommended Reading: Navajo Spoons: Indian Artistry and the Souvenir Trade by Cindra Kline

TAGS: Navajo Nation, Silverware - Flatware