Turquoise jewelry, native american turquoise jewelry, turquoise beads, navajo jewelry, indian jewelry

Previous Topic of the Week Features - Page 2

This page continues previous "Topic of the Week" features from our What's New Page in case you missed them or would like to revisit the subjects. It begins on July 23, 2001 going forward in time as you scroll down the page. We add to it periodically on the bottom.

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Monday, July 23rd
LAPIS LAZULI
Lapis Lazuli is an opaque, azure-blue, vivid blue, light blue, greenish-blue, or violet-blue stone consisting largely of lazurite but with appreciable amounts of calcite, diopside and pyrite.

Mineral deposits are rare. For centuries, the most important deposit with the best quality has been in the the West Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan near the source of the river Amu-Darja, where it has been mined since remote antiquity. The ancient Egyptians probably obtained their supplies from there. Much smaller quantities come from the Soviet Union (Siberia), Burma, Angola, Canada (Labrador), and the United States (California). Chile supplies lower quality stones with many white spots of calcite. Lapis Lazuli is mined under primitive conditions and in difficult terrain, where it is present as an irregular occurrence in limestone. This is seen in Italy when lapis is found in limestone blocks ejected by Vesuvius.
Lapis has been used for jewelry throughout history. Some old-world castles have wallpanels and columns covered in lapis. Today it is used as cabochons and beads in jewelry, in Zuni inlay and to a very small extent, carved into Zuni fetishes when available. Lapis has a Mohs hardness of 5-6 and in the best quality the color is regularly distributed, but it is usually spotted or striped. It often contains minute, scattered crystals of pyrite, which do not detract from its value. It is one of the most valuable semiopaque ornamental materials available today, worth about the same as good quality turquoise and the better jades (excluding imperial jade). When it contains light veins of other minerals, the value diminishes, but not excessively, as the effect is still very pleasing. It can be confused with azurite, lazulite, sodalite and glass imitations.
Below are pictures of three grades of lapis in the rough (with #1 being the highest grade), and a dark blue lapis Emery Eriacho bear and Jeff Tsalabutie wolf resting on some rough stones. Next is a closeup of a pyrite vein in very high-grade lapis with a picture of an inlaid Lapis bear in a Laconsello Zuni bracelet, a cabochon ready to be set in jewelry, and used as a centerstone in an Albert Jake bracelet. Continuing on, we see examples of three grades of lapis carved in Zuni fetishes: large Ricky Laahty gem lapis frog, Jeff Tsalabutie leopard lapis mountain lion and wolf, Dee Edaakie lapis bear with pretty turquoise-colored stripe and a wonderful Ricky frog carved from Chilean lapis.
Information obtained from "Gemstones of the World" by Walter Shumann and "Simon & Shuster's Gems and Precious Stones", Fireside Publishing.

Monday, July 30th
PERUVIAN OPAL
This opal is also referred to as Andean Opal and Blue Opal (but not the same blue opal commonly known to come from Australia).

The "blue opal" we're featuring this week is found in the Andes Mountains of Peru. It can be found alongside chrysocolla and is a soft, semi-opaque blue stone that glows in the light and has a unique feeling and color. Opal is in the quartz group and has a hardness of 5 1/2-6 1/2 on the Mohs scale. Opal always contains water. It is mined as thick veins in host rock, often with natural crystalline seams present (which are not cracks). Fine quality blue opal with no presence of matrix is rare. Most of the peruvian opal mined is cut into cabochons and set in jewelry. It is a relatively new stone on the market. We saw it for the first time only five years ago. We buy all our rough directly from the miner in Peru.

Most of the time this stone is an incredible aqua-blue to green and the light shifts through it, like a true opal. It picks up a soft, light sheen. Blue Opals do not have the "play of color" that one thinks of with other opals. It does have that opalescent luminescence that invites one to hold it and feel it's warmth and uniqueness.
There is a mystical quality about Peruvian Opal. It has feminine energy with gentleness and serenity present that would feel good to hold during meditation. On a metaphysical level, it is associated with the 5th (Throat) Chakra and addresses the mental and emotional issues of choice and strength of will, following one's dream, using personal power to create, judgement and criticism, faith and knowledge, and the capacity to make decisions.
Below there are pictures of two specimens of Peruvian Opal in the rough (dry, not wet). We've also added some picture of two exceptional Zuni Fetishes. There is a large Jeffery Tsalabutie Opal Bear with Red Coral inlaid eyees and a Gibbs Othole Opal Badger with a large blue Azurite arrowhead bundle. Opal is a challenge to work with. It is hard to carve and sensitive to heat and shock while grinding, cutting and polishing.

Monday, September 17th
PEACE
We woke up this Monday morning completely different from just one week ago. With our breath of life we can breathe in love, and breathe out peace; breathe in peace and breathe out love. It's needed right now. The kachina pictured below was carved by award-winning Hopi artist Alfred "Bo" Lomahquahu. "Dawa," the Sun God Kachina, is rising up from the clouds surrounding our Mother Earth playing his flute, sending blessings of peace and harmony down to us. We spoke with Alfred this morning, he said "the Sun God is a Father to us, through his light and warmth we have life. He is there watching over us playing songs and giving prayers for all Life."

In Zuni, the Sunface Kachina is also a very important deity. He is a powerful symbol of peace and positive energy. He is the "Bringer of New Life and New Beginnings," which is why you see Sunface symbols on Zuni jewelry, pottery and fetishes.
On a personal level, this Kachina represents the bringing together of us as brothers and sisters on one very small planet. He asks us to have respect for one another and give thanks for all our blessings. The size of Dawa in relation to the earth is also significant, another reminder to know humility, recognize grace and to keep perspective of what's really important in our lives. He was carved from one piece of cottonwood root (including flute). The only things added are the three bells on his left leg. He is 16" tall. To see more pictures of this kachina, visit his Sunface Kachina Page.

We also have a Hano Mana Kachina who represents a continuation of this theme: she's releasing the yellow bird of peace and love from her outstretched arm into the universe. Hano Mana was also carved by Alfred and can be seen on her Hano Mana Kachina Page. The messages these artists are sending out to the world are worth respecting and listening to, especially at this chaotic time in our existence.

Monday, October 8th
REGAL DEE EDAAKIE DOLOMITE EAGLE FETISH
This large, beautiful Eagle (pictured below) was carved by Dee Edaakie of the Zuni Pueblo. He was carved from a large specimen of Banded Dolomite and has a red head and red on the tips of his tailfeathers with bands of pink, gold and peach in between. His lower beak is over 1/2" long and only 1/8" thick. He was carved to show his powerful chest muscles, long legs with clawed feet and fully-detailed wings. Dee made a special turquoise necklace for him that has a turquoise center pendant. We usually make sure he has a bowl of cornmeal nearby. He's over 3 3/4" high x 2 3/8" long x 2" wide.

Monday, October 29th
The Zuni Mountains

Many of you who follow our website know that we spend a lot of our time in Zuni-Land. We thought we'd share some images from a morning walk we took this past weekend in the Zuni Mountains. The area we're showing is a high mountain valley, about 7500 feet elevation, surrounded by red sandstone mesas, pillar rock formations (called 'gigantes' by locals) and dense forests going up to about 9500 feet. Most of the pictures below were taken while climbing the center mesa in the top picture and yes, the sky is really that blue. :-) The rock formations are so huge it's hard to capture the scale of their size and grandeur in small pictures. We hope to convey to you the beauty, awe and enchantment that we feel when we're there. (There are a couple pictures of us at the bottom.)

Monday, December 31st, 2001 -- Happy New Year!!
May the sun shine most brightly on you in 2002. May you feel incomparable joy. May you meet with great success. May your heart be warmed by friends and family. May the path before you lead to wonderful places. May your understanding grow. We wish you all this and much more.
Since we didn't send out cards this year (for the first time) allow us to take this opportunity to thank you for your friendship, your business, your unbelievable large hearts (and willingness to share them with us), and the gift of knowing you. You have enriched our lives in a deep way and made the path we walk even that much more rewarding.

Christmas morning, Zuni Mountains, 2001.

Monday, January 7th, 2002
Gem-Grade Turquoise
We thought we'd show a variety of gem-grade turquoise from three of the more famous mines from three different states. While they are all turquoise, the subtle differences in mineral composition make the markings, color, textures and feeling distinctive to each mine (much easier to show in person than photographs). All of these turquoises are from old collections mined in the 1960's or earlier. They are all very collectible, rare turquoises today.
The Blue Gem Turquoise from Battle Mountain, Nevada is a vein turquoise; very gemmy and watery-looking with very little matrix. The Tyrone Turquoise from Southern New Mexico were nuggets; more opaque, rich aqua blue in color with fine darker-blue "watermarking" found only in the finest turquoises. The spiderweb specimens were from one nugget from Bisbee, Arizona and are a deep-blue with red-brown matrix webbing.

Monday, January 14th, 2002
Navajo Silverwork
Those of you who follow our website know how much we love the stones, especially the "Skystone," which is turquoise, of course. This week we wanted to give some credit to the very talented silversmiths who create an artistic frame for the hand-cut stones they're given. Most have won numerous awards and recognition from the art world as well as the collecting community. Some of the Navajo artists whose work we show are Andrew Cadman, Albert and Verdi Jake, Sunshine Reeves and his brother Gary Reeves, Gilbert Yazzie and others. Sunshine Reeves won "Best of Show" at Santa Fe Indian Market for a full tea set all hand-fabricated and stamped, absolutely incredible!
First, the stones are cut, shaped and polished from rough by a master lapidary in Santa Fe. The silversmiths are then given the stones all lined up on a piece of tape. They take it from there and start with blank sheets of sterling silver after deciding on a design. Hand-fabricated silver looks and feels different from machine-made jewelry that can have a "tin-like" look to it. The silver in our jewelry has a rich patina that just gets better with wear and can be softly polished (with a polish cloth) to brighten if desired. The silversmiths hand-stamp and cut each piece with many different tools into intricate, complicated patterns that will reveal any slight error or lack of concentration. They then make the bezels to fit the stones, solder the bezels to the bracelets (or conchos, pendant, ring, etc) and set the stones by burnishing (tightening) the silver bezel. The stones must fit exactly to have a clean finish and stay put in their setting. In a hand-made piece, most of the time you can look on the back and see the stampwork coming through (one way to tell if it's hand-made).
Silversmithing is a labor-intensive, tedious process with no room for error, silver does not allow one to "undo" a mistake. The best silversmiths can create a piece of wearable art that is in harmony with the stones they're given. As with most artists, the better the stones, the more inspired the artist is to elevate his (or her) silverwork to its highest level possible. The jewelry we're offering is some of the finest southwest Indian jewelry being made today, every piece is one-of-a-kind and all will stand the test of time in beauty, durability and design. The stones and silver will outlast us all.

Here are some examples of different silver jewelry and stampwork. The bracelets were all made by either Albert Jake or Andrew Cadman and have either straight sides or scalloped sides.

Two concho belts: one is all silver made by Sunshine Reeves and the other was made by Gilbert Yazzie, set with rare Blue Gem Turquoise from Nevada.

Our final item is a magnificent sterling silver box (6" long) set with an awesome Morenci Turquoise specimen (from Arizona) made and signed by Gary Reeves. The box is a fascinating feat of engineering and artistry that reveals the talent required for all the stampings to come together at each corner of the box and the perfectly-matched (and hinged) top.

Monday, January 28th, 2002
Lorandina Sheche Clay-Stone Frog Family
Lorandina carved this amazing, one-of-a-kind fetish about five months ago, it is one of the most special pieces in our collection. The "frog family" was carved from one piece of a local Zuni material called "clay-stone" that Lorandina mined herself. This stone has been used for many centuries for fetish carvings. It is soft in some areas and hard in others, does not take a polish and feels hard and heavy to hold.
The large mother frog is carrying the weight of a smaller frog on top of her with a baby frog trying to climb up her back behind her. They all have bulging turquoise inlaid eyes, wonderful faces and great proportions. We feel that the traditional fetishes bring us all back to the roots of Zuni Fetishism. This piece is a special example of some of the new work being done in the village from the artists who specialize in carving old-style fetishes. The frog family is quite large, measuring 3 3/4" long x 2 3/8" wide x 2 7/8" high. We hope to have more pieces like this one to offer in the near future.

Monday, January 11th, 2002
Fred Bowannie, Zuni Fetish Carver
Fred Bowannie is in his early 50's, and learned to carve from his grandfather Old Man Acque in the 1960's. For over twenty years he worked in Zuni Agriculture until that department was closed a year ago. Fred is an old-time friend of the Laahty Family and we've known him for over twenty years. Fred was working in construction about six months ago when we saw him in Ricky's shop and suggested Fred try carving fetishes again. Since then, Fred's carvings have been welcomed by the collecting community and recognized as classical in style, authentic in feeling and a valued addition to their collections.
There is a maturity and masculinity in his carvings that can only be hinted at in pictures. As wonderful as they are just to look it, they're even better when you have them in your hand! His family has had a ranch in Nutria (an area in Zuni Land) for many generations and Fred still has many duties there that include raising cattle, sheep and farming. He signs all his carvings with his family brand which is FZ. Fred said that his grandfather told him to do that so "they will know where they come from, and will always be able to find their way home." He is a respected kachina and altar carver and very involved in the religion so has many responsibilities in that area as well.
Fred carves traditional-styled fetishes from stones native to Nutria in Zuni-Land (that he mined himself). He is patient and takes his time carving each animal with respect for the spirit within. His work can be immediately recognized due to his original style and his beautiful, large arrowheads. Fred's fetishes stand out in any collection, they are classical, museum-quality pieces. He will be carving natural turquoise this upcoming year.
Below is a grouping of bears and lions that show the variety of sizes, poses and materials that Fred is getting known for. His carvings have strength and a quiet elegance, with wonderful rolls of fur around their shoulders and unique faces. He likes to carve large, heavy, healthy-looking animals. As you can see, they look great in a group.

Fred Bowannie, Zuni, 2002

Above is a wonderful grouping of Fred's bears and lions, all carved from stone native to Zuni-Land. The stones are jasper and travertine, in shades of gold, pink, brown, bronze and ivory. Fabulous variety of different natural textures and finishes, most have Zuni Malachite or Nutria Jet inlaid eyes.

Some of the fabulous faces of Fred's bears and lions.

Fred Nutria Gold Jasper Mountain Lion.

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