Bracelet 1910 - 1920

This bracelet was made with silver and turquoise by a Navajo (Diné) artist. When I look at this piece, I think about touch—the cool smoothness of the metal, the subtle texture of the stone. Imagine the artist carefully shaping the silver, pressing it, coaxing it into form. It's like a dance between the hands and the material. Each element, from the small silver beads to the central turquoise stone, has been carefully placed. That oval of bright blue-green, like a captured piece of sky, dominates the piece, but the silverwork is like a kind of architecture that both contains and supports the precious stone. It reminds me that artists are always building on what came before, borrowing ideas, and pushing boundaries. Just as painters learn from one another, these artisans pass down traditions, adapting and innovating as they go. It’s an ongoing conversation, a language spoken through material and form.