Sterling Silver and Obsidian Gaan Dancer Mask Pendant [SOLD]

Jan Loco is a member of the Warm Springs Apache tribe.  She began making jewelry in 1988. She has developed a method of making jewelry without the use of hand tools. After cutting the silver to the desired shape (with heavy-duty poultry scissors or something similar), she hammers it with a specially selected rock until she achieves the texture she desires. This is a laborious task, but she feels it honors her ancestry to use items of nature rather than power tools.

The pendant has a sand-textured front and hand-hammered back.  The black stone is possibly obsidian.  The pendant is designed in the shape of an Apache Gaan mask.  The Apache Crown or Devil Dancers are more appropriately named the Gaan and they can appear at a girl's puberty ceremony and at curing ceremonies.  The style of the headpieces of the Gaan is an indication of the ceremony in which they are appearing.

The Gaan personify the four Mountain Spirits, supporters of the four corners of the earth, providing for world balance.  The dances represent the powers of the Gaan, protectors of the Apache.  The Gaan mask has a black fabric covering the face of the dancer which is the intent of the black stone in this pendant.

Condition:  There is an insignificant fracture in the black stone that is not visible and was only discovered by use of a magnification glass.  The stone is secure in its bezel.

Provenance: from a family in Santa Fe