Lilian Fernando

The Diné of the Navajo Nation were the first Native Americans in the Southwest to master the techniques of silversmithing. They were taught that skill by Mexican silversmiths in the mid-19th Century and quickly became masters of the craft. Navajo philosophy stresses the importance of living and walking in beauty and in harmony with nature. The blue skies of the Navajo Reservation are reflected in the jewelry they make and in the way they integrate the turquoise stone into their work so that beauty is with them all the time.

The artist was Lillian Fernando, a Navajo jeweler who frequently used fish scale inlay to make buckles, bolos and watch tips.