Pueblo Jewelry History
The modern day descendents of the ancient Anasazi and Hohokam are commonly divided into three separate categories of Southwestern Pueblos, comprised of the Hopis of Arizona, the Zunis of both Arizona and New Mexico, and the various Pueblo tribes of the Rio Grande. These descendants are often referred to collectively as the Pueblo Indians, and although there are many differences among these tribes they share a similar evolution in the design of their jewelry through the centuries.
Working with the natural resources of shell, red clay, rock, and semi-precious stones such as turquoise, Pueblo jewelry has been comprised of and inspired by the aesthetic beauty of the land that encompasses the Southwest since the earliest days. Masters of turquoise, Pueblo artisans would fashion the beautiful green and blue hued stones into articles of adornment ranging from multi-layered strands of necklaces to fashionable earrings. With notoriety for beautiful shell work, old trade centers such as Taos flourished in the exchange of goods for Pueblo Indian jewelry.
Captivating minds for successive generations alike, Pueblo jewelry has evolved and transformed through stages of metals, first copper and brass, and then later silver. With this transformation came a demand from the tourist industry eventually adding to the commercialization aspect of Pueblo jewelry. During the end of the nineteenth century, there were several silversmiths in various Pueblos such as Laguna and Acoma, and later Pueblos such as Isleta were famous for their double-barred cross, which resembled the ancient symbol of the Dragonfly, denoting water. However, as demand rose, the increase of Navajo silversmiths resulted in the decline of Pueblo silversmiths. The three Pueblos that are best known for their jewelry today are the Zuni, Hopi, and the Santo Domingo pueblo.
For more than a century, the Zuni silversmiths have refined their skills and have mastered inlay channel and lapidary work, creating and designing some of the most sought after Pueblo jewelry of the Southwest. The Zuni inlay channel work arose directly from their love of turquoise, providing them the means necessary to embellish silver with stones. The skilled lapidaries fashioned and shaped the stones to perfection, enabling for their individual placement in channels of silver. Zuni artisans have a natural inclination for adorning rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, concha belts, and various forms of Pueblo jewelry with turquoise, jet, or coral. Because of the focus on stones, the silver jewelry of the Zuni rarely contains stamped work, generally contributing only as a backdrop or accent to the total design. Zuni jewelers, known for their bracelet and ring cluster work, use multiple stones set in individual bezels to create the desired look. Although fetishes are a product of many Pueblos, the fetish necklaces associated with the Zuni dominate demand. Derived from natural objects such as stone, wood, bone, shell, antler and rock, the fetish resembles animals and are attached to strands of Heishi. Read more at our Zuni Jewelry guide.
Located within and surrounded by the Navajo reservation, the Hopi pueblo sits atop a mesa allowing for a sedentary lifestyle that has contributed and enabled them to perfect their world-renowned silver overlay work, a style independent of all Pueblo jewelry. Unlike the Zuni, who favor stones, the silver bracelets of the Hopi concentrate on the overlay work, so as not to distract from its beauty. The process of overlay involves the use of two pieces of silver, with the removal of the design from one piece then subsequently soldered to the other. Often the background of the silver outlined design is the color black. Although they prefer overlay, a symbol solely associated with the Hopi, the butterfly, is often designed in turquoise and coral. Read more at our Hopi Jewelry guide.
Santo Domingo Pueblo Jewelry
Although the early jewelry associated with the Santo Domingo Pueblo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had some roots in silver, the decline in silversmiths corresponded directly with the increase of tourist demand, who favored the style and easy accessibility of the Navajo and Zuni silversmiths. Though silver work waned, an increase in demand for their fine shell and turquoise jewelry work flourished. The tiny and meticulously shaped Heishi are highly respected for both their beauty and the skills necessary to manufacture them. Heishi beads, made out of dark olive, white clam, turquoise tabs, and spiny oyster shells, are strung onto necklaces of single and multiple strands. The Santo Domingo pueblo is also known for its mosaic shell work. For example, the Dance shell pendant, worn by men during the Corn dance, consists of either an oyster or a pecan shell inlaid with mosaic turquoise and jet.
