Antique Vintage Brass Native Santo Domingo Pueblo Shell Claw Bead Necklace 18.8g

Submitted by admin on Sat, 12/24/2022 - 09:02

Antique Vintage Brass Native Santo Domingo Pueblo Shell Claw Bead Necklace 18.8g

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: 18.8 grams.

Metal Type: Brass shell claw setting. 925 sterling silver with a yellow gold wash clasp. 925 sterling silver bench beads. Diameter: 2.93 mm to 7.02 mm. Depth : 1.3 mm to 4.28 mm. Color: semi-translucent deep brown hue with inclusions of lighter brown and cream hues. Accent Stone: Wood, faux resin claw. Blue painted wood beads: 7.11 mm to 7.52 mm diameter, 4.19 mm to 6.3 mm depth, opaque white and mottled blue hue. Gold painted wood beads: 7.18 mm diameter, 2.57 mm depth, opaque bronze-gold hue. Faux resin claw : 33.54 mm length, 23.84 mm width, 2.45 mm depth, semi-translucent deep brown hue. 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 and wood heishi beads, polished faux resin claw. Pendant measurements : 1.30" including bale, 1.28" wide.

Closure/Clasp Type: Two barrel clasps. Link Type: Beads on wire. Handmade by a talented Pueblo artisan located in Santa Domingo Pueblo (now Kewa Pubelo), New Mexico, in the 1950s.

Features a long wire adorned with a multitude of beautiful shell heishi beads, as well as wood trade heishi beads. Each shell and wood heishi bead was expertly hand-carved into a round disk. Thin sterling silver spacing beads separate each blue and white wood bead. Two wooden beads, each painted a golden-bronze hue, also adorn the strand. Two faux resin claws rest in the pendant, held in a brass setting, with two glass trade beads above and below this setting.
Sterling silver bench beads, entirely handmade and formed from two halves, adorn the necklace by the clasp. Base metal fluted beads also rest on each side of the pendant. Finished with two gold wash over sterling silver barrel clasps for secure wear. One of the faux resin claws is a bit loose in its setting, and may fall out if pushed; however, this could be easily repaired by your local jeweler. There is some wear to the paint on several wooden beads, which is not immediately noticeable when worn.
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 wasn't 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. This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Ethnic, Regional & Tribal\Necklaces & Pendants". The seller is "abeautifultimeco" and is located in this country: US.

This item can be shipped worldwide.