Sterling Silver Kewa Cuff Bracelet with Fancy Bird [SOLD]

C4140F-cuff.jpg

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Artist Unknown
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: KEWA, Santo Domingo Pueblo
  • Medium: Sterling Silver
  • Size: 5-¼” End to End, 1” Opening; 2-⅜” Wide
  • Item # C4140F
  • SOLD

Kewa Pueblo, once known as Santo Domingo Pueblo, lies between Santa Fe and Albuquerque along the Rio Grande. The pueblo is one of the most conservative of the 19 New Mexico Pueblos, its inhabitants resisting the outside influences of the Spanish, Mexican and American cultures.  Residents of the pueblo have long maintained their traditional religious practices and social structure. It has a long history of producing and trading fine jewelry, both to sell to other pueblos as well as to their Hispanic and Anglo neighbors. Most families have at least one person involved in the production of jewelry.

The bracelet has a hallmark, but we have been unable to determine who the maker is. It dates from the last quarter of the 20th Century. This Kewa bracelet depicting a graceful bird with a wide feathered tail is a unique example of Southwest Indian Jewelry produced at the pueblo. Reminiscent of the elegant bird images often seen on Kewa pottery, the cut out bird is flanked on either side by curved motifs. The bracelet is composed of heavy gauge silver in which the designs were cut out and the background then oxidized. The bracelet has a hallmark, but we have been unable to determine who the maker is. It dates from the last quarter of the 20th Century.


Condition: The Sterling Silver Kewa Cuff with Fancy Bird is in very good condition.

Provenance: The bracelet is from the collection of a daughter of the Balcomb family. The Balcombs owned galleries in New Mexico and Arizona in the middle to late 20th Century.

Recommended Reading:

- Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers by Margery Bedinger

- Southwest Silver Jewelry by Paula Baxter

Artist Unknown
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: KEWA, Santo Domingo Pueblo
  • Medium: Sterling Silver
  • Size: 5-¼” End to End, 1” Opening; 2-⅜” Wide
  • Item # C4140F
  • SOLD

C4140F-cuff.jpgC4140F-large.jpg Click on image to view larger.