Water Web Turquoise Cuff »

Navajo

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About The Artwork

Handsomely crafted silver cuff bracelet with an impressive piece of natural intense blue green Nevada turquoise. This beautiful "water web" stone is cut free form because the material was then and is even more now--too precious to waste. "Water web" is so named because the webbing or matrix between turquoise nodules is actually darker blue turquoise. The overall impression is like looking into a pool. Some compare it to a sky filled with small fleecy clouds--a coming sign of lifegiving rain. This is a prosperity stone flanked by large, hand-stamped, scalloped leaf forms. The cuff itself is made of 3 hand-forged and stamped half-round heavy gauage bands of silver joined at each end. They are spread apart from one another in the front to support the setting for the turquoise--as well as the decoration at either side. This cuff is a very clean, strong example of '50's to early 1960's Navajo handcraft.

About The Artist

The Navajo were the first of the Native Americans of the Southwest to learn silversmithing from the Spanish. Most Navajo jewelry emphasizes silver, with turquoise stones used as an accent. Some pieces are cast in sand or tufa molds, while others are hammered, using a male stamp and a female die.

Other Works By Artist:

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