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Navajo Sterling Silver Squash Blossom Necklace - C3856E
There are 54 silver beads, 10 silver squash blossoms and a naja, all of which are silver. It is strung on rawhide. Early Navajo jewelry contained elements borrowed directly from Spanish colonial and Mexican ornament. The naja is one of these elements, a crescent form of Moorish origin. The Spanish conquerors in the Southwest outfitted their horses with 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 Navajo incorporated the naja in their jewelry as a pendant dangling on silver necklaces, commonly called "squash blossom necklaces." The blossoms are modeled from the pomegranate but have been known as squash blossoms for over a hundred years, so that is not likely to change.