Description: This is an astonishing vintage zuni silver ring. The unique placement of the three triangular shaped stones of Kingman turquoise and two black onyx stones steals the show as the square face of this spectacular ring that has a cool open lattice design at each side of the wide band! The ring face measures around 20mmx15mm The ring size is around 10 no marks but tested as Sterling silver. Sturdy 14.6grams. Cir mid century + great addition to your collection ZUNI JEWELRY | THE INTRICATE HISTORY Zuni Indian jewelry Zuni elders say turquoise guarantees its wearers a long life. Zuni Indian turquoise jewelry issome of the more intricate Native American jewelry made. Their jewelry trademarks, most of themcontaining turquoise, are needlepoint and petit point -two types of Zuni clusterwork - mosaic,channelwork and inlay.History shows that the Zunis, although skilled lapidaries since prehistoric times, didn'tbegin setting silverwork with turquoise until after the Navajos, around 1890. So, Navajo copycats atfirst, with practice and time, their jewelry became their own. Predating the first Europeans in theSouthwest, Skystone and Silver authors say, in time, Zuni jewelry took on less of the Navajo flair oflarge, simply shaped stones, replacing them with stones that were smaller and more exquisitley ground and polished. The massiveness of Navajo silverwork was also abandoned in favor of lightframeworks which were no more than platforms upon which large quantities of delicately cut stoneswere mounted, in clusters of varying designs, in geometric patterns. One historian has compared theZuni' jewelry-making style to that of Mozart, the Navajo's, to Beethoven. Zunis are famous for inlayed turquoise jewelry where stones are set into the silver. Much of their turquoise jewelry is made withlittle or no matrix (brown and sometimes other colored - marks in turquoise that appear in the stonefrom minerals in the ground when the turquoise is mined).Channelwork, or channel inlay, is where turquoise or other stones, shells, or coral are set into acompartmentalized silver framework. The definition in Skystone and Silver states that this type ofjewelry is often a cooperative effort between the Zuni's stone cutting and setting and the Navajo's silversmithing. Helen Wells, Arizona Indian art specialist, says when choosing Zuni collectables'design is important the way the materials are combined...the way...they fit together. She thinksmost of the tribe's nicest work was created during the 1920s where the stones flush to one anotherwith) really good silverwork, and fantastic designs.Zunis are also known for their mosaic work which came down from the prehistoricHohokam indians of South-central Arizona.
Price: 175 USD
Location: Salinas, California
End Time: 2024-12-17T14:13:09.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Tribal Affiliation: Navajo
Artisan: zuni
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Culture: Native American: US
Handmade: Yes
