Zuni Pueblo Silver Bracelet with Six Diamond Shaped Turquoise Gemstones [SOLD]

C4496o-bracelet.jpg

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Jeweler Once Known
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: Zuni Pueblo, SHE-WE-NA
  • Medium: turquoise, silver
  • Size: 5-⅛” end to end;
    1-⅛” opening ⅜” width;
    Wrist Size: 6-¼”
  • Item # C4496o
  • SOLD

Six diamond-shaped turquoise gemstones are set in tiny sawtooth bezels on this vintage Zuni bracelet. An unknown Zuni artisan then placed each segment into a teardrop shaped silver frame. Small silver drops are interspersed between the delicate silver frames. 

We have designated this bracelet as Zuni because the style is more distinctively Zuni. However, often Diné and Zuni artists collaborated, the Zuni artisan being responsible for the lapidary work and the Diné artisan fashioning the silver frame. The style of small diamond shaped stones set in a delicate manner is more often associated with Zuni jewelry, which is why we have designated it as from Zuni. 

During prehistoric times, the ancestors of the Zuni people, the Ancestral Puebloans, created beautiful items of adornment made of small pieces of turquoise and shell.  When introduced by the Spanish to silver, they continued to use their traditional lapidary skills to fashion items of jewelry made with the addition of silver. Initially they made jewelry for themselves, but when the railroad arrived in the Southwest, they quickly realized they could benefit economically from the sale of jewelry to tourists eager to buy reminders of their Southwest adventures. Today, almost every family at Zuni is involved in some sort of jewelry making and the distinctive Zuni style is recognized worldwide. 

This vintage mid-century bracelet is unsigned.


Condition: The bracelet is in good condition. It shows wear consistent with age. 

Provenance: this Zuni Pueblo Silver Bracelet with Six Diamond Shaped Turquoise Gemstones is from a collector in Colorado

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Silver from the Doneghy Collection by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Relative Links: Southwest Indian JewelryZuni Pueblo

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR WRIST FOR BRACELET SIZE

Alternate side view of this bracelet.

Jeweler Once Known
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: Zuni Pueblo, SHE-WE-NA
  • Medium: turquoise, silver
  • Size: 5-⅛” end to end;
    1-⅛” opening ⅜” width;
    Wrist Size: 6-¼”
  • Item # C4496o
  • SOLD

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