Pueblo Cross Necklace [SOLD]

A New Mexico Pueblo Cross necklace, comprised of handmade silver beads and White Heart glass beads, 10 smaller sterling silver crosses and one larger cross. Necklaces of this type were made and worn by most of the pueblo peoples in the 1800s and early 1900s. The double bar crosses are representation of the dragonfly. It is not hard to see how a cross with two crossbars can be seen to look like a dragonfly as it hovers in the air with outstretched wings, and when the cross is made of silver, light hitting the metal has reflective qualities not unlike the iridescence of a dragonfly's wings. The heart at the bottom of the double bar cross is referred to as the “heart of the dragonfly.”

Upon observing a necklace with crosses made by a Pueblo silversmith, one's first reaction might be to think of these crosses strictly in the European, Christian sense. And admittedly, some of the crosses created by Indian smiths were made with the thought of the Christian religion in mind. But for the majority that were made during the principal years that these necklaces and crosses were being produced and worn, a predominant belief in native over imported religion allowed most Indian people to view these articles within their own traditions, something that continues for many today.

Item Provenance: This necklace dates to circa 1900-1910. An Albuquerque Indian dealer purchased it directly from a pueblo woman at Laguna Pueblo in approximately 1985. It has been in the possession of Adobe Gallery since that time.