We have similar Native and Pueblo Santo Domingo items, which would pair nicely with this piece, for sale this week. To view in separate listings, please visit our store and search "Native" or "Pueblo" under our Buy-It-Now Items.
Listing Description by: Chris T.
The Piece
Markings: Unmarked, tested, and guaranteed
Main Stone: mother of pearl
Main Stone Measurements/Color: iridescent
Accent Stone: assorted
Accent Stone Measurements/Color: assorted
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: tumbled and polished, carved
Item Measurements:
- Wearable length: 18" Necklace, 2.50" pendant
Pendant Type: --
Notable Features:
- handmade
- silver gold plated, and brass
Damage: Age appropriate wear.
*This listing is for the item only. All display boxes and/or photography props do not come with your purchase.*
The History
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. During this time, trading posts had become commonplace for Native Americans to go and exchange food, tools, and other materials with Colonists. Essentially, banks would loan the shop owners money which was then invested into loans for Native Americans in exchange for their jewelry. 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.
