Necklace c. 1940s - 1950s

This necklace was made by a Navajo artist, using silver and what looks like coral or red glass. The overall effect is quite striking, because there’s a high level of repetition and symmetry, yet also handmade marks in the individual elements. I’m really drawn to the little blossoms that run along both sides of the necklace, with their tiny silver petals cradling the red stones. The petals, or naja, are not perfect mirror images. Each one has slightly different proportions, and a slightly different angle. You can see that the maker wasn’t aiming for perfect symmetry. Rather, they were embracing the possibilities that arise from making each blossom by hand. There's something both structured and organic about that. It reminds me of Eva Hesse’s work, where she sets up a series of constraints, and then follows through on them, allowing for variation and error. This way of working embraces the beauty of imperfection. It's also a reminder that art isn't about arriving at a fixed point, but about the journey itself.