Diné (Navajo) Sandcast Sterling Silver & Turquoise Bracelet [R]

Before a cast bracelet such as this one can be made by an artisan, he or she must first fashion a mold from a whitish sandstone rock, hard enough to withstand the hot metal without splitting and yet soft enough to be grooved into the wanted design. Today, these can be purchased at local jewelry supply stores, but in earlier days, the artisan searched the Reservation for suitable rock and carved the desired design himself. When one of these molds broke, perhaps from not having been warm enough to receive the molten silver, it was a minor tragedy. Today, it is a slight inconvenience. Now, a new one (tufa mold used in the sandcast process) can be purchased on the next trip into town.

This bracelet was cast in a single flat mold then curved into shape after being removed from the mold. It would have then been hand cleaned and polished to a luscious sheen. The turquoise cab was set in a silver bezel at the center of the bracelet.  The exact age is unknown but the bracelet probably dates to the 1980s. It does not have a jeweler’s signature or stamp, however.  The bracelet is for a person with a very small wrist.

Condition:  The bracelet is in original excellent condition.

Provenance: from the personal collection of a gentleman from Georgia.

Recommended Reading:  Ray Manley’s Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts & Crafts by Ray Manley.  One copy of this book is currently available at Adobe Gallery