Silver and Turquoise Bracelet with Navajo Guild Stamp [SOLD]

The foundation of this bracelet is two silver bars with space between in which there is a single silver twisted wire.  These three silver pieces were soldered at the ends.  Seven round and domed turquoise gemstones are mounted across the top of the bracelet.  Between each turquoise are two silver drops.  Each turquoise gemstone was mounted in finely finished bezels.  The turquoise mountings expand across the bracelet to cover almost the entire silver foundation in a very impressive display.  

The bracelet is stamped with the hallmark of the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild, an organization to assist Navajo artists, who learned their trade at Indian schools, to sell their wares.  It was officially chartered in 1941.

“Craft items were produced at the guild shop, in the homes of the craftsmen, or at community workshops already established on the reservations.  Materials and supplies were issued only to craftsmen who could meet the standards and requirements for quality established by the guild.  These standards were similar to those of the Indian Arts & Crafts Board program—though craftsmen having their own materials, supplies, and workshops could offer their products for sale to the guild.  A full-time manager was hired and one of the first was John Adair.” [Messier & Messier. 2014:68]

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Silver and Turquoise Bracelet with Navajo Guild Stamp is from a client from Colorado

Reference: Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry—Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government, by Pat Messier & Kim Messier

TAGS: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Navajo Nation, bracelet

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