Diné Four Strand Coral Bead and Turquoise Heishi Necklace [SOLD]

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Jeweler Once Known

Simple hook and loop secures this necklace.

Simple hook and loop secures this necklace.

Made by a Diné of the Navajo Nation artist, this blood red coral necklace has four-strands of rare and beautiful highly symmetrically contoured and burnished coral.  The lower section has turquoise heishi interspersed between individual coral beads.  We have adopted the policy of designating a necklace as having been made by a Diné artisan if it has silver attachments and designated as of Pueblo origin if it has a pueblo wrap.  This may or may not be a fool-proof procedure, but it is the procedure we use.

The use of coral for decoration goes back 30,000 years to the stone age, when ancient man used it to decorate burials. Coral jewelry was made by Egyptians, the Mesopotamian culture, and the ancient Greeks. According to Greek legend, coral is seaweed that was turned red by the blood of Medusa after she was slain by the hero Perseus. The Greeks regarded coral as a powerful protector.

Native Americans began to use coral shortly after it was introduced to them by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. The red colored jewel intrigued them. Strands of deep red coral were valued and worn as a form of currency.  Today, coral is one of the most sought materials used by Native American artists.


Condition: excellent original condition

Provenance: this Diné Four Strand Coral Bead and Turquoise Heishi Necklace is from the collection of a resident of Colorado.

Recommended Reading: Contemporary Southwestern Jewelry by Diana Pardue with the Heard Museum.

Relative Links: Southwest Indian JewelryNavajonecklace

A beautiful combination of coral and turquoise.

Jeweler Once Known
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