Antique Vintage Sterling Silver Native Santo Domingo Pueblo Heishi Necklace 5.5g

We have similar Native and Pueblo Santo Domingo items, which would pair nicely with this piece, for sale this week. Listing Description by: Angela A.

Age Circa: Antique Native Pueblo Santo Domingo C. Markings: Unmarked, tested, and guaranteed. Country of Origin: United States, Pueblo Nation.

Gram Weight: 5.5 grams. Length: 4.85 mm to 7.66 mm. Width : 2.01 mm to 4.97 mm.

Color: opaque bright blue hue with a mottled brown matrix. Diameter: 1.99 mm to 2.25 mm. Depth: 1.09 mm to 3.45 mm. Color : opaque brown and beige hues with tan and cream inclusions.

Stone Treatment: The stone(s) appear to be untreated, but we are not certified gemologists. Stone(s) have been tested and guaranteed using a professional Presidium Duo refractive, heat, and hardness tester. Stone Cuts: Carved and polished shell heishi beads, tumbled and polished turquoise stones.

Sterling silver bead width: 2.23 mm diameter. Closure/Clasp Type: Hook and figure eight catch. Link Type: Beads on string. Handmade by a talented Pueblo artisan located in Santa Domingo Pueblo (now Kewa Pubelo), New Mexico, in the 1920s. Features a long woven string adorned with a multitude of beautiful shell heishi beads, as well as turquoise stones. Each shell heishi bead was expertly hand-carved into a round disk. Two sterling silver bench beads adorn the strand, which were entirely handmade from two halves. Many tumbled and polished turquoise stones, containing a bright blue hue with a mottled brown matrix, rest at the center of the necklace, each separated by two shell beads. Finished with a sterling silver hook and figure eight clasp for secure wear. There are minor chips from the edges of several shell beads, but the stones remain secure and this does not affect wear. There is tarnish on some areas of the sterling silver, giving the item a lovely antique quality. This listing is for the item only. This beautiful piece was made by a very talented Native American silversmith.

It features handcrafted silversmith work throughout. Antique Native American jewelry is very rare to find.

This is due to these pieces being made for reservation and personal use before the tourist trade became popular. Very few pieces were made and even less survived to today. Kewa Pueblo, formerly known as Santo Domingo Pueblo, is located on the Rio Grande and is particularly known for Native Pueblo artists who create heishi necklaces made of bone, shell and turquoise beads, some of which are so finely cut that they almost look like strands of hair. These beautiful and colorful necklaces are also sometimes incorrectly identified as "Depression Jewelry", however their origin certainly predates the Great Depression, and they are still being made today by Kewa artists. Pueblo artisans are also quite famous for their inlaid mosaic-like pieces.

The concept of Pawn, Old Pawn, and Dead Pawn Native American Jewelry came to be in the 1800s. When a loan wasnt repaid, the item became known as either Old Pawn or Dead Pawn. Heishi, or Heishe (pronounced hee shee), are tiny beads that are disc-, tube-, and even sometimes square-shaped, originally made from shell that has been ground and drilled. In modern times, Heishi has come to mean any tiny hand-made beads of any natural material.

Modern Heishi pieces include stone, wood, bone, nuts, eggs, and metal. The oldest examples of Heishi date back to around 6000 BCE, to the Pueblo Native Americans, and is the oldest form of jewelry in New Mexico. The word Heishi means shell and ancient Pueblo artisans used many kinds of seashells that they obtained through trade with tribes in the Gulf of California; including spiny oysters, mother-of-pearl, and melon shell.

Turquoise is found all over the world and has been a popular semi-precious stone used in jewelry and art for thousands of years by many different cultures; from prehistoric times to the present. Turquoise comes in many beautiful color variations; from the popular bright solid sky-blue hues to dark blue hues with dark spiderwebbing throughout, as well as aqua, teal, and many green varieties, and even some rare white with dark spiderwebbing. The item "Antique Vintage Sterling Silver Native Santo Domingo Pueblo Heishi Necklace 5.5g" is in sale since Sunday, April 18, 2021.

This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Ethnic, Regional & Tribal\Native American\Necklaces & Pendants". The seller is "abeautifultimeco" and is located in Fort Collins, Colorado. This item can be shipped worldwide.

Department: Womens
Brand: Unbranded
Metal: Sterling Silver
Metal Purity: .925
Main Stone: Turquoise
Material: String
Modified Item: No
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Jewelry Type: Necklaces
Country of Origin: United States, Pueblo Nation
Tribal Affiliation: Santo Domingo
Featured Refinements: Heishi Necklace
Ethnic Origin: Pueblo
Accent Stones: Shell
Ethnic & Regional Style: Native American