Bracelet c. 1920s - 1930s

This bracelet was crafted by A'shiwi, also known as Zuni artists, and it lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Look at all those carefully placed turquoise stones set in silver! I can only imagine the patience, the absolute attention to detail, it must have taken to bring this bracelet into being. Each tiny turquoise, like a little window to the sky, held in place by the cool, strong embrace of the silver. It’s a testament to the artist’s eye, the way the repeating pattern creates a sense of rhythm, like music made of stone and metal. I can't help but think of the broader conversation this piece joins – the long history of artists learning from and inspiring each other. Each turquoise stone whispers secrets of the earth, while the silver setting echoes the ingenuity of human hands. The bracelet represents a form of embodied expression that embraces ambiguity and invites multiple interpretations.