Nineteenth Century Coin Silver Pictorial Navajo Spoon [R]

Navajo-made silver spoons with an Indian head profile at the end of the handle first appeared in Indian trader J. L. Hubbell's 1902 pamphlet. Hubbell assured his clients that these were made by Navajo silversmiths and were made from coin silver.

This spoon features an Indian head with feather bonnet in profile at the end of the handle and two arrows stamped in the bowl. Spoons were priced by weight of silver and not by their aesthetics. Spoons such as these were highly sought by tourists traveling on the trains to the southwest. They were attractive items, easily transported and easily displayed when back at home.

This spoon comes with a metal display stand fabricated specifically for this item.

Condition: there is a small crack on one edge of the bowl and the handle may have been repaired near the area of the bowl of this spoon.

Provenance:

- Coulter Brooks Gallery, Santa Fe

- Private collection of a Virginia family

Recommended Reading: Navajo Spoons: Indian Artistry and the Souvenir Trade, 1880s - 1940s by Cindra Kline