Necklace c. 20th century

Editor: So this is a ceramic necklace, made around the 20th century. It seems to have a kind of narrative quality with the small ceramic birds. How would you interpret the symbolism here? Curator: Well, it's fascinating how these bird motifs function within Indigenous American visual language. Birds are potent symbols—messengers, spirits, indicators of change, movement, freedom. Do you notice anything about the individual depictions of these birds? Editor: Some are painted in white and brown while others are just shades of grey with linear designs and small spots of blue throughout the black bead strings. The placement feels deliberately patterned. Curator: Exactly! And consider this: Indigenous art rarely divorces form from function. Jewelry, particularly necklaces, aren't mere adornments, but significant markers of identity, status, and even spiritual power. What continuities can we then observe? Editor: It makes me think of ritual practices or storytelling. The birds, the colour variations, the circular form of the necklace…almost like a cycle or a journey? Curator: Precisely. Indigenous cultures possess rich cosmologies woven into everyday objects. The circle is a universal symbol, of course, of continuity, of interconnectedness, but here, especially when adorned with symbolic animals like birds, it’s actively participating in cultural memory, continuing certain narratives or belief systems. This necklace becomes more than decorative; it’s a tangible expression of worldview. Does it prompt you to think differently about how we perceive value and meaning within art? Editor: Absolutely. I was only thinking of aesthetics, but now I see how the symbolism carries such heavy cultural significance, so intertwined with the community's identity.