This Single Strand Nugget Necklace with Jaclas style is the most traditional of all necklaces that we associate with the pueblo people. Long before silver was introduced to them, the pueblos were making necklaces of turquoise, hieshe, shell, coral and other natural materials. This is the style they were wearing when the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century; and this is the style they wear today during their religious and social dances.  If one goes to any pueblo feast day plaza dance, it is this style necklace one sees on all the dancers-male and female, adult and child. It possesses powers unrivaled by silver jewelry.

This Santo Domingo Pueblo necklace has the traditional pair of jaclas suspended from the bottom of the necklace.  Jaclas were originally made and worn as earrings but eventually were added to the nugget necklaces in the manner shown here.  The part of the necklace that is in the back of the neck is wrapped in cotton thread in what is known as a "pueblo wrap."  It perhaps was intended to be removed and replaced when it became soiled.

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Five beautiful oval turquoise cabs grace the top of this heavy silver bracelet.  The silver appears to be ingot as it is think and heavy.  Each of the turquoise cabs is set is a silver bezel, surrounded by a silver cap and mounted on the bracelet shaft.  The ends of the Heavy Stock Sterling Silver and Turquoise Bracelet are profusely stamped with traditional Navajo designs.  The bracelet is stamped Sterling but there is no artist name. 

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Five blue and copper turquoise stones are beautifully arranged as the center pieces of this silver bracelet.  The three center stones are arranged with the maximum diameter in a vertical position and the outer two are arranged with the maximum diameter in a horizontal position. 

The Navajo Silver Bracelet with Five Turquoise Stones was formed from two silver bars and a single silver twisted wire as the foundation.  It appears to date from the mid-1950s.

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Three beautiful blue turquoise cabs with strong matrix have been placed in ascending order from the lowest one which is square to the next one which is trapezoidal to the top one which is rectangular. They are secured to a silver sheet backing with edges of tubular silver.  They are equipped with wires for pierced ears.  Each of the Navajo Pyramidal Shaped Silver and Turquoise Earrings is stamped sterling on verso.  There is no artist name.  These probably date to mid-20th century.

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Cluster rings evoke a feeling of flowers.  Generally, they are arranged with a center stone surrounded by a circle of stones.  This ring is of that style.  There are eleven perimeter turquoise cabs surrounding a center turquoise cab.  The turquoise cabs are mounted in individual bezels and attached to a flat silver backing, which is attached to the silver shank. 

This Zuni Pueblo Floral Style Cluster Ring is not signed with the name of the artisan nor is it dated, however, wear patterns of the silver edges would indicate an age of 50 or more years.

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Very small round and tear drop turquoise stones are set in hand-made saw tooth bezels to create a jewelry masterpiece. This early pair of Zuni Pueblo Petit Point Cascading Earrings is a testament to the ability of Zuni Pueblo artisans to work with the smallest pieces of stone. Zuni petit point and needlepoint got their names from the fine embroidery work of the time. Just as women would spend hours sewing designs with small stitches of thread, the Zuni used small stones to create designs to wear as jewelry.

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The idea for this style bracelet probably began with a single silver narrow band bracelet.  Some ingenious jeweler envisioned putting several narrow-band bracelets together to make a wider one. The idea blossomed into a wide bracelet but one not made by connecting three narrow ones together.  This one was fashioned as a single bracelet from the beginning.

The Zuni Pueblo Triple Row Turquoise and Silver Bracelet is topped with three rows each containing 12 small square cut turquoise cabs, each cab set into a silver bezel. The sides of the bracelet are stamped with traditional Zuni stamping.

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Mark Tahbo of Hopi Pueblo in Arizona talks about his modern twist to Hopi traditional pottery designs #25931.

Toni Roller began her career as a pueblo potter at age six by making clay marbles and throwing them into the fire when her mother, Margaret Tafoya, was firing pottery.  From there she blossomed into one of the finest potters at Santa Clara Pueblo.  This jar, from 1985, is truly an exceptional example of her attention to detail-vessel shape, burnishing and firing.  It is a beautiful example of an outstanding carved-design jar. 

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This round seed jar is beautifully designed in the sgraffito style.  The center design element is a turtle.  Surrounding the turtle is a series of parallel feather elements.  The remainder of the jar is stone polished and fired to a burnished brown.

Elya Naranjo Smith, a potter from Santa Clara Pueblo.  We have seen small seed jars with sgraffito designs on them.  Otherwise, we cannot find any additional information on this artist.

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Coral was introduced to the Southwest by the Spaniards but was not used extensively until the late 1930s, when traders imported it to Zuni Pueblo. Most coral used in the Southwest came from the Mediterranean. Both Pueblo and Navajo artisans have worked with coral.

This Navajo Silver and Coral Floral Design Ring has nine coral cabs mounted in silver bezels and arranged in a flower design.  It is stamped Sterling on the back and has the initial S.  If there was another initial, it has been covered up with the shank.

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This Navajo Silver and Coral Single Stone Bracelet was constructed from a pair of silver wires separated in the middle by silver bar wedges and soldered together at their ends.  A beautiful coral stone, mounted in a silver bezel is attached to a silver backing and mounted in the center of the bracelet. 

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The eight oval and rectangular coral cabs are mounted at a slight angle on the wide silver band. Each cab is set in a serrated silver bezel and separated by floral design silver dots.  The ends of the bracelet are stamped with simple arches.

Paylee and Darlene Coonsis, Zuni Pueblo jewelry designers, make lovely vintage style silver and turquoise jewelry.  Their hallmark signature on this Sterling Silver Bracelet with Eight Coral Cabs is PD COONSIS

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If you were ever invited to share a meal at a pueblo home, you would have seen vegetables or red chile or green chile stew served in a bowl like this.  Such bowls grace the table at all pueblo meals.  This historic bowl, however, shows no evidence of use so you could be the first to put it to use on your table. Bowls of this size are also used when making small amounts of loaf bread.

This Cochiti Pueblo Large Serving Bowl has a beautiful shape.  The wall curves inward as it rises from the mid-body. The rim is painted black and exhibits a ceremonial line break which extends downward breaking the continuity of the design chain.

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This Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo polychrome serving bowl probably dates to pre-1940s. It has the traditional rag-wiped bentonite slip, black rim around the top, a red band wiped below the decorated section, and stone polished cream slip on the interior. The main body is decorated in two separate extremely bold design panels. Each panel is comprised of a triangular element on the left and a floral element on its right.  This design is repeated only twice on the Large Chile Serving Bowl from Kewa Pueblo. There is a large area of cream slip devoid of decoration, a concept that enhances the bold black designs. 

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Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo is associated with strong black on cream very bold designs.  The design on this Small Dough Bowl from Kewa Pueblo was achieved by painting two corners of the square panel black and painting black semicircles diagonally across the box. The remaining cream slip of the ovoid becomes part of the design concept.  The bottom of the bowl was slipped with red pigment.  The interior of the bowl is completely slipped in red clay that has been stone polished to seal the finish.  A 1-1/2-inch wide red band was wiped over the red of the interior at the rim.  I do not recall seeing this on any other Kewa pottery bowl.

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Dough bowls were not made at Zia Pueblo before the late 1700s.  Dough bowls did not materialize until the arrival of the Spaniards and their introduction of flour to the Natives.  Prior to the introduction of flour for making baked bread, there was no need for dough bowls. Many of the pueblos did not accept the Spanish bread for a hundred years or more.  Zia seems to be one of those that did not make loaf bread until later.

The experience gained in making large storage jars for storage of dried foods and other necessities eventually paved the way for potters to experiment making dough bowls.  The design elements on dough bowls have persisted almost without change since the first ones were made.  This design was first developed on water jars during the San Pablo Polychrome period (1760-1820) and then used in dough bowls even into the present Zia Polychrome period.

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I believe Louis Naranjo was the first to make bear storytellers. He once explained why he began making them. He was hunting one day and came across a female bear with two cubs. He watched the cubs playing and their antics inspired him to create the bear storyteller figurines.  

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Ada Suina has always been recognized as one of the premier Cochiti Pueblo storyteller figurine potters. Her male figurines, such as this one, have a strong, chiseled face, and the children have happy carefree expressions. She uses all natural materials and fires the figurines outdoors in the traditional manner. 

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