Fred Harvey Era Silver and Green Turquoise Thunderbird Pin [SOLD]

This thunderbird jewelry pin was made in the style of the jewelry most referred to as the Fred Harvey style. The Fred Harvey style is characterized by thin silver that has been carefully stamped, sometimes containing small nuggets of natural turquoise. The pieces were stamped with designs that came to be associated with the American Southwest. Popular shapes were animals, crossed arrows, and celestial objects.

The designs on this Thunderbird include a pair of arrows on the leading edge of the wings, and elaborate stamping on each wing and tail feather. An opal-like blue turquoise gemstone is prominently displayed as a centerpiece.

The Thunderbird emblem "was the most popular Fred Harvey symbol, with more varieties and designs than any other. It appears as a centerpiece far more often than others, and its commercial implications were substantial. Some silversmiths obtained increasingly refined and complex Thunderbird stamps as industrial dies were furnished to Indian artists. The Thunderbird was so prominent for so long that one author suggests it had worn out its welcome by the 1930s." [June 2013:65] We know that did not happen.

"The earliest Thunderbird dies began to show signs of avain details as wings sprouted feathers and tails became more prominent. The stout, square shoulders gave way to softer, rounded edges. There was much genius among early stamp and die makers, and it appears on authentic Indian silver jewelry as well as early hybrid Fred Harvey jewelry." [ibid:69]

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Fred Harvey Era Silver and Green Turquoise Thunderbird Pin is from a gentleman in Santa Fe

Reference: Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900-1955 by Dennis June, Schiffer Publishing 2013.

TAGS: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Diné of the Navajo Nation