Necklace c. 1900

This necklace was made by a Navajo artist using silver and a fiber cord. The necklace demonstrates how Native American artists of the Southwest synthesized traditional techniques with European materials. The necklace is composed of handmade silver beads, punctuated by pendants shaped like squash blossoms, and finished with a naja, a crescent-shaped pendant. The naja derives from Moorish Spain. It was adopted by the Spanish as a protective amulet on horse bridles. The Navajo then incorporated the symbol into their own jewelry. Considered as a whole, the necklace embodies inter-cultural exchange and innovation. In the late 19th century, Native artists began producing jewelry for sale to tourists and collectors. This created both economic opportunities, and new ways of asserting cultural identity. Museum collections and archives offer fertile resources for exploring the history of Native American art and its complex relationship to cultural exchange and economic development.