Antique/Vintage Navajo Sterling Silver Necklace and Pendant

This piece is beautiful, there's no doubt. The slightly abstract form of the acorn, the leaves and tiny flowers adorning both sides, the stones above the pendant and even the exquisite chain hold their own, when it comes to beauty. But the history of the piece and the evolution of the craft among Southwestern US Native tribes brings to light the nightmarish sociological impact of the colonization of North America.
I can't just gloss over this topic. Sure, it has little to do with the piece, but the cultural ramifications of these pieces of jewelry can't be understated.
When Christopher Columbus finally made landfall in North America, his diary makes note of his first meeting with the Native population. But prior to his North American landfall, he landed in the Caribbean. He describes his first meeting with the peaceful inhabitants of the island: "I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance." If this didn't shine a light on the Spanish colonial intentions, there are several more examples of the utter contempt and indifference with which these friendly natives were greeted, when he finally made landfall in the current Southeastern US. According to Columbus' letter to the King, "They have no arms, and are without warlike instincts; they all go naked, and are so timid that a thousand would not stand before three of our men. So that they are good to be ordered about, to work and sow, and do all that may be necessary, and to build towns, and they should be taught to go about clothed and to adopt our customs. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. Here there are so many of these slaves." Today, we read these sentiments with disgust, but in the 1400s, for colonial powers (be they Portuguese, Spanish or British) , this was the standard operating procedure. Find slave labour, build the Royals' demands and to hell with the people, as they slave away, reaping their lands of all valuable natural resources. It was a brutal and horrible age of conquest that annihilated countless pre-industrial societies for their own financial gain.
Centuries of battles and upheaval later, we find ourselves in the mid-19th century. The Native Americans have been pushed Westward and the last remaining Native tribes of the Southwest are still fighting colonial invaders. In the New Mexico and California area, there were three main tribes - The Navajo, The Hopi and the Zuni. Their histories and origins varied - The first Navajo, for example, were found in Western Canada over 1000 years ago, while the Hopi, according to oral legend, immigrated to the Arizona area from South America and the Zuni are reportedly the oldest Native tribe in the region. Regardless of their histories, they were targets of the White man, inching his way violently and without mercy, across the continent. By the 19th century, the Natives had been forced to learn about the world of the colonial powers, what items were considered truly valuable and how to operate in this rapidly changing world. They started trading with English, Spanish and French trappers, gathering precious metals from which they designed and built jewelry. It remains a great source of income for the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni tribes of the area. By the mid 1800s, one of the first Native American Indian metal smiths was a Navajo known as Atsidi Sani, who learned to form black metal from a Mexican blacksmith living in the New Mexico territory, around 1850. By 1865, Atsidi was introduced to Silversmithing and thus Navajo Silversmithing began. Atsidi Sani taught his four sons to become Navajo Silversmiths and they, in turn, taught others. Later, in the 1880s, J.L. Hubbell hired several Mexican Silversmiths to teach the craft to Navajos at his Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona. The Navajo Silversmiths learned to cast Silver in sandstone or tufa as well as produce hand-hammered work. They adopted their own stones (turquoise and Orange Spiny Oyster, in our piece's case), used for centuries among their peoples, to adorn new and original pieces of silver jewelry. Originally, their main source of silver was American coinage, but it became illegal to deface American currency in 1890. Mexican Pesos were substituted until 1930, but at that point, Sterling silver was being made available by British traders as Sterling silver sheets and wire were introduced to the Navajo artisans - they continue to use these materials, today.
The quality of these pieces varied. Some were quite primitive, but others were remarkably advanced. The imagery of these pieces was as equally important as the finished product and Native tribes used this medium to preserve their history.
Our piece is made of two flat sheets, hand-hammered, shaped and carved into a handsome acorn, still hanging onto its branch. The acorn has been a stalwart of North American life for millennia. In fact, the acorn was the confirmed number one food staple consumed in the southwestern United States for centuries. Acorns represented life for Indigenous Peoples, figuring prominently in the diets and daily lives of countless generations - gathering acorns, processing them, cooking them, storing them, and ultimately, eating them. The vast availability of the acorn led to it being the most-consumed plant in the area. In California, for instance, one 19th century anthropologist reported that annual production exceeded subsistence demands despite the fact that more than three quarters of the entire population relied on acorns for food on a daily basis. As such, the acorn is a common theme in Navajo, Hopi and Zuni jewelry.
Now we come to the tough part - identifying our artist, their tribe and age of the work. The rules for hallmarks on Native pieces didn't follow the same rules as American or British Silver hallmarks. A maker's mark and some mark of 'Sterling' or 'STER' would suffice for legal trade. History-keeping was iffy, at best, when it came to Native tribes and as such, many Native marks have yet to be identified. Despite my extensive research, I was unable to find the maker of this piece. However, we can identify and ensure the origins of the piece (to which tribe this piece can be ascribed) with some careful observation:
Firstly, the stones/beads. They are free-cut, floating beads on top of a pendant. The Zuni tended to make solid pieces, using turquoise to great effect, embedded in a silver piece. They sometimes used Orange Spiny Oyster, as well, but again, only as an inlaid colour. Hopi pieces are similar, but vary a touch more. They use dark segments to contrast the silver in beautifully solid, polished pieces. They, as well, use turquoise and Spiny oyster, and they used these pieces as true beads, on a chain, similarly with Navajo pieces. However, the Navajo have about 40 more years of history, with regards to silversmithing and thus, evolved their craft to include more advanced styles and techniques, some of which included 'puffed,' or 'hollow' pieces. It is here, I believe, the roots of our stunning pendant and chain lie. Another piece of evidence is the mark itself - Hopi and Zuni tribes used symbols as their maker's mark. Only Navajo artisans used English letters in their hallmarks. The chain is the only place where we can see a hallmark (pictured, on the reverse of the stunningly-designed clasp), but I ensured that the pendant itself, as well as the elaborate ring from which it is suspended, tested positive for Sterling Silver. The detail on the pendant is spectacular, no doubt. It even has an air of primitiveness, as we can see where the acorn shape was closed, after inserting some beads (I have yet to concretely identify what is rattling around inside this beautiful piece) and the shape of the wire on which the beads are placed. But the chain is just staggering. We must remember that this chain wasn't made by some decades-long, master-trained apprentice artisan. These pieces were not only made by hand in the most primitive way, they still used the sand of the desert to cast their items well into the 20th century. As such, it is even more impressive that this twist chain exists in such stunning condition and built with such immense attention to detail. Lastly, to date the piece... if we hadn't had a stamp, I'd be lost. However, as the piece is stamped "STER," we know that this piece had to be made from pure Sterling Silver. Sterling silver was only available to the Native artisans starting around 1930 and, as such, we can date the piece to the early- to mid-twentieth century. However, the US adopted the Sterling Standard in 1868, meaning that any silver pieces would have been sterling and thus, any piece made from the melt would legally meet the definition of Sterling Silver. Could this piece date from the mid-19th century? It's possible that this piece is quite a bit older than we believe, but I include this theory only as a possibility...
This 'puffed' pendant is not only beautiful, it is UNIQUE. I have yet to come across another piece like it.
This piece's history cannot be understated - it is an IMMENSELY important piece of Native jewelry, but its beauty mustn't be ignored. I'm thrilled to be able to offer this stunning piece of Navajo history for purchase.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, I'm always happy to respond to messages almost immediately.

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