Zuni Jet and Turquoise Adjustable Ring [SOLD]

The first Zuni silversmith, Lanyad, learned his trade from the Navajo smith Adsity Chon in 1872. After that time the Zuni combined their lapidary skills with delicate silver work to develop a distinctive jewelry style.  The Zuni then specialized in setting stones into the newly discovered technique of silverwork.  This exquisite ring is comprised of individual small cuts of turquoise and jet which then were joined stone-to-stone.  The six stone-to-stone pieces were then inlayed between silver channels.  The face of the ring is flat.

The silver shank on the ring has an overlap on the back which permits the ring to be enlarged in size without modification.  The ring is currently set at size 8-1/2 and it appears that it could be expanded to a size 10.

Condition: original condition

Recommended Reading:  Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest by Kari Chalker, et al

Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman from Colorado