Silver Cast Navajo Guild Bracelet

This elegant and simple silver cast bracelet contains a wonderful symmetrical design which is customary on many Diné jewelry pieces. The exact middle contains a small diamond shape which then opens to heart shaped carvings on each side. Inside of each of these shapes is a point with three fashioned edges. The bracelet looks and feels sophisticated, while also retaining the essence of a traditional Diné piece of jewelry.

The bracelet is stamped 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 at the guild shop, in the homes of the craftsmen, or at community workshops already established on the reservations. Materials and supplies were issued only to craftsmen who could meet the standards and requirements for quality established by the guild. These standards were similar to those of the Indian Arts & Crafts Board program—though craftsmen having their own materials, supplies, and workshops could offer their products for sale to the guild. A full-time manager was hired and one of the first was John Adair." [Messier & Messier. 2014:68]

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR WRIST FOR BRACELET SIZE

Condition: good condition

Provenance: this Silver Cast Navajo Guild Bracelet 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