Silver Cast Naja Navajo Guild Pendant or Pin

This is a striking naja pin/pendant from a Diné artist, which was made using beautiful sterling silver and crafted into an elegant naja shape. The skill of the designer is immediately apparent and the shape of the piece forms perfect symmetry on both the right and left side. The pin/pendant was formed by the cast process.

Early Navajo-made jewelry contained elements that were borrowed directly from Spanish colonial and Mexican ornament. One of these items is the naja, a crescent form of Moorish origin. The Spanish conquerors in the Southwest outfitted their horses in elaborate silver ornaments—one of which was the naja that hung directly on the forehead of the horse as a part of the bridle.

The pin/pendant is stamped on the back with the hallmark of the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild, an organization to assist Navajo artists who learned their trade at Indian schools to sell their wares. It was officially chartered in 1941. "Craft items were produced either at the guild shop, in the homes of the craftsmen, or at community workshops already established on the reservation. Materials and supplies were issued only to craftsmen who could meet the standards and requirements for quality established by the guild." [Messier & Messier, 2014:68]

Condition: good condition.

Provenance: this Silver Cast Naja Navajo Guild Pendant or Pin is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery

Reference: Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry -Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government, by Pat Messier & Kim Messier

TAGS: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Navajo