Sandcast Squash Blossom Necklace [SOLD]

The silver and turquoise squash blossoms on this mid-century necklace are unique in that they are sandcast. An unknown Diné of the Navajo Nation artist created 14 squash elements and with a solitary cabochon of high-grade turquoise in each one. The turquoise in this necklace is extraordinarily stunning, with an ocean-like blue-green color and golden-brown matrix. Individual pieces of turquoise are placed in settings that showcase this natural beauty. At the center of the necklace is a naja with two smaller pieces of turquoise.

Sometime in the history of Native American jewelry from the Southwest, someone named a necklace, such as this one, a "squash blossom" necklace. Technically, the blossoms attached to the necklace were derived from the pomegranate! The area with turquoise cabs that looks like a blossom and the silver protrusions were copied from silver pomegranate blossoms seen on the trousers of the vaqueros (cowboys) from Spain and Mexico. Regardless of the name, these have been among the most popular Native American necklaces for decades, certainly as early as pre-World War II.

The naja suspended as a pendant on the necklace was another item lifted from visitors to the Southwest-Spaniards who rode their magnificent horses with elaborate harness hardware which included a naja draped over the forehead of the horse. The naja originally came from the Moors. So, the necklace is a combination of favored items from the vaqueros and their horses.

Squash Blossom necklaces are a testimony to the genius of Diné artisans who took motifs and design elements from other cultures and made them their own.

Condition: the necklace is in excellent condition

Provenance: this Sandcast Squash Blossom Necklace is from a Colorado collector

Recommended Reading: Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers, By Marjorie Bedinger

TAGS: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Navajo, necklace