Four Winds Gallery
Links to articles:
Pop Artist Stan Natchez
History of Navajo Silversmithing
Zuni Carvers
Balancing Two Worlds - Stan Natchez
Fetishes - Objects with Magic Properties
The Beauty of Turquoise
North American Plains Indian Beadwork
The Photography of Edward Sheriff
Curtis
Collecting Indian Jewellery
Regional Style Navajo Rugs
Collecting Indian Jewellery
JENNIFER GUY - Four Winds Gallery
The first collectors of Indian jewellery were the Indians themselves,
they amassed and treasured it long before the white man took anything
more than a passing interest in it. The Indians have for centuries used
just about any material which would lend itself to personal adornment,
from shell and eagle feathers to various coloured rocks and earths which
could be finely ground and mixed with water or animal grease and applied
to the body and face. Animal bones were polished, sometimes strung as
necklaces or pendants, and sometimes mounted and strung horizontally for
use as breastplates. Elk's teeth were attached to the buckskin clothing
of the Plains Indians, as well as being worn in necklaces; bear claws,
particularly those of the grizzly bear, were used by some tribes as
necklace components, although other tribes, the Navajo included,
regarded bears as sacred and would not kill them save in self-defence.
Before the white traders introduced the tiny glass beads which the
Plains Indians sewed so adroitly to their clothing and moccasins,
porcupine quills were dyed and sewn to garments and footwear in patterns
which were the prototypes of the later beaded clothing. Designs were
traditional and one Indian could glance at another, a total stranger,
and identify his tribal affiliation by the cut and design of his
clothing. In the southwest, before silversmithing was introduced, we
have noted that shell and stone were used as jewellery. In today's
Indian stores the shell heishi necklaces are direct survivors of a form
of southwestern Indian jewellery that is centuries old. Turquoise beads,
sometimes flat discs, sometimes of greater thickness, also were strung
for wearing around the neck, and these too were as highly prized in
early times as they are today.
When the Indians first learned to work silver and then set it with turquoise, this art form remained for
decades a predominantly Indian craft. Photographs of the Navajos in the
1870s and 1880s show beyond doubt that the Indians of those days had
come to prize it. Men and women alike wore not one but several
necklaces, perhaps a strand of heishi or two along with a squash-blossom
(heavy silver necklace) and naja set with turquoise. A ring might be
worn on nearly every finger, and bracelets were often stacked, one upon
another, on the wrist. The wearing and collecting of such large amounts
of jewellery told a great deal about the Indian wearer. First of all it
attracted attention for its aesthetic qualities as well as by the
sparkle of silver and flash of turquoise. Second, it marked its wearer
as a person of affluence. Precisely what prompts a person to acquire
large amounts of any collectable would take a battery of psychologists
to explain, but it undoubtedly transcends the simple motive of acquiring
wealth.
Many of today's collectors acquired their jewellery almost by
accident, with no fixed intention in mind, acquiring a piece here and
there over the years until they became conscious of the fact that they
were captives of the mystique of Indian jewellery. Some people have
acquired jewellery through business transactions and to their surprise
ended up as dealers in it, or as collectors who thirst for that ultimate
item which will put to shame all other pieces in their possession. There
are those who say that today's collectors buy Indian jewellery because
of their sympathy with the Indian and his long history of
misunderstanding and mistreatment at the hands of the white man. While
this argument may have some validity, people do not invest large sums of
money in worthless items: an investment must have intrinsic worth. In
the case of Indian jewellery, this means that the basic materials that
go into it have value in themselves, and that they are made with the
skill of a master craftsman and the soul (if you will) of an artist.
There is at least one other reason for collecting Indian jewellery, a
very simple and overriding one: it has beauty. Starting a collection is
like learning how to swim: you can read about it, you can watch others
and ponder on it, but eventually you have to get in yourself. When you
decide to acquire Indian jewellery you may feel ill at ease or
indecisive but once you actually own any piece of silver and turquoise,
or a string of heishi, your whole attitude will change. You are now a
collector and not only do you possess a tangible item of both material
and aesthetic value but you have become one with those who shares their
knowledge and appreciation of such things. Silver is not the most
valuable of metals nor turquoise the most precious of stones, but there
is a quality to them that seems to come alive when worn. These qualities
and others, such as turquoise suggesting the enduring sky and silver
taking on new life the more it is worn, along with the honesty of
patient craftsmen are still the qualities that attract the collector.
Today's collector can do many things to obtain more definite guidelines.
These include reading as much related material as possible, visiting
museums and exhibitions to study the displays and frequenting dealers
and traders who are involved in the area of Indian collectibles. Do not
hesitate to browse in shops which you suspect are not up to your
standards as the best way to learn about imitation and poorer quality
jewellery is to see as much of it as you can. In the same fashion,
examine the works in the better shops and galleries as this is the only
way you can train your own instincts and develop good taste and
discernment. In the long run, you will have to be your own expert for no
one else can truly tell you what you want or need in Indian jewellery.
Honesty of materials and workmanship is your goal and you must combine
your own integrity with that of the smith.
There are probably three basic criteria which determine the purchase of silver and turquoise
jewellery: desirability, authenticity and price. Desirability is by all
odds the most important factor as if something does not appeal to you,
you will not want it at any price, no matter how impeccable its
credentials. Authenticity can be equated with honesty in that you should
be getting exactly what you pay for and the integrity of the dealer is
your only guarantee. Such points as whether or not a piece is pawn
jewellery (pre-1940), whether it has been handmade or whether it
contains natural turquoise or a stabilised or synthetic stone are all
areas in which most collectors rely on the reliability and honesty of
their sources. What kind of collection can one specialise in? The
possibilities are endless. You can specialise by tribe (Navajo, Zuni,
Hopi, Santo Domingo), by period, by style, in plain silver, in fetishes,
in turquoise or coral or in beads, mosaics or singer type (a form of
mosaic chip developed by a Navajo family named Singer). You will have to
set standards for yourself: will you accept stabilised (colour treated
and hardened) turquoise pieces, oiled turquoise, etc? Where price is
concerned ultimately you must depend upon your own discrimination and
the reputability of the dealer. It doesn't take long to learn the value
of good jewellery, and truly good pieces are never sold at discount
prices. Usually big discounts mean one of two things: the merchandise is
not up to scratch or it was deliberately overpriced to start with.
How
do you take care of your Indian jewellery? As little as possible. Silver
takes on a lustre when it is worn and the longer it is worn the more
distinctive its patina becomes. If your jewellery is put away or exposed
to humidity it may tarnish a little; a polishing cloth will bring it
back quickly but if you must polish do so sparingly. Don't polish the
low spots in the die marks for they should be allowed to blacken in
order to contrast with the rich silvery glow of the flat spaces.
The
same is true of turquoise. It was meant to be worn. There are a few
obvious precautions. The Sky Stone (turquoise) is not as hard as a
diamond and heavy blows can chip it. Another obvious point is that when
you have paid a large sum of money for a quality piece of jewellery (be
it gold and diamonds or silver and turquoise) you must exercise
reasonable care in protecting and preserving it. Some turquoise stones
are more porous and absorbent than others and this accounts for warnings
that you should never wear a ring while, say, doing the dishes, and that
turquoise will change colour if exposed to anything from cold creams to
perspiration. A chalky stone might well absorb the grease in dishwater
and change colour but a good stone will not. Silver and turquoise
jewellery was first made by the Indians to be worn by themselves, and
except for their finest pieces (reserved for special occasions), they
wore their jewellery day in and day out. Until recently, their
lifestyles and environment could hardly have been called comfortable,
yet some of their stones have survived half a century of hard wear
without losing their colour or beauty. If anything, age and usage have
given them a patina which some people consider even more desirable than
the high polish of new stones.
Even after taking pains to comply with
all the basic rules of buying and collecting, you are likely to discover
that over the years, you have acquired items which no longer appeal to
you for various reasons such as a change in taste. Many dealers and
collectors will trade items or the pieces can be sold outright.
Obviously, you will come out better if you trade rather than sell as a
dealer can trade on a retail value basis; if he buys it from you
outright he'll have to give you less because he must mark it up in order
to sell it again. If your collection is valuable, and almost any
assemblage of Indian jewellery is valuable these days, it should be
firstly appraised accurately by a dealer or specialist in the area and
then properly insured.