Fred Harvey Style Silver and Turquoise Navajo Bracelet [SOLD]

This silver and turquoise Navajo bracelet is the style favored by the Fred Harvey Company as the best value for tourists to the area.  By using thinner silver, a single turquoise, and many Indian-style stamped designs, it was intended to be inexpensive, at the time, and so typically Indian style, that a tourist could not pass it up.

The silver band or shank is solid on the ends but divided into four branches at the top.  A large green turquoise gemstone is mounted on a silver backing that, in turn, is mounted on the bracelet.  Each tip of the bracelet band is stamped with the Fred Harvey Thunderbird.  Working up from the ends of the bracelet, we see a pair of arrows, and the Zia Sun symbol.  Additional stamps continue up the sides and across the four strips on top of the bracelet.

“There is no doubt that a style suitable for the tourist influenced Native American jewelry design, notably the split shank. Once invented, the open nature of the split shank took on many forms, including multiple-splits and accouterments.” [June 2013:103]

So called “Hybrids” are bracelets with flat shanks produced by presses, and the finish work by Indian silversmiths.  Indian silversmiths were eager to do the finish work.  “Many independent Indian silversmiths were supplied with bracelet shanks that had dominant symbols pre-pressed into their broad open spaces.  The individual silversmith could add his own stamps where needed . . . and then apply the components, thereby reading ’Indian handmade.’ Piecework was likely very popular among hybrid jewelry silversmiths.” [ibid p.112]

Condition: This bracelet appears to be of the 1930s period and is in excellent condition.

Provenance: this Fred Harvey Style Silver and Turquoise Navajo Bracelet is from a collection of a Colorado resident

Reference: June, Dennis. Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900-1955

Relative Links: Bracelets, Navajo, jewelry

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