silver dollar necklace with naja pendant, unrecorded Diné artist

Artwork Overview

unrecorded Diné artist, silver dollar necklace with naja pendant
unrecorded Diné artist, silver dollar necklace with naja pendant
unrecorded Diné artist
silver dollar necklace with naja pendant
1945–1980
silver dollar necklace with naja pendant, 1945–1980
Where object was made: Southwestern United States
Material/technique: turquoise; silver
Dimensions:
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 40 x 11 cm
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 4 5/16 x 15 3/4 in
Credit line: Gift of Joseph P. Antonow
Accession number: 2007.1489
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: “This Land,” Mar-2014, Kate Meyer The 1910 Franciscan Father’s ethnologic dictionary of the Navajo language describes squash blossom necklaces as follows: “Usually they have a large crescent-shaped pendant [the naja] in the front center, and in the lower half of the strand small silver crosses, and other flowerlike ornaments are strung after every second or third bead.” This later example incorporates Morgan silver dollars instead of squash blossom beads. The dollars and dimes used to make these beads date from between 1879 and 1945, and were likely acquired by the silversmith when Navajo jewelry became popular among tourists in the 1960s and 1970s.