Bracelet after 1890

Editor: Here we have a Navajo bracelet crafted after 1890, showcasing silver and turquoise. I'm struck by the contrast between the cool metal and the vibrant blue stones. What can you tell me about this piece from a materialist perspective? Curator: This bracelet immediately brings up questions about labor and access. Consider the silver itself. Where did it originate? Was it mined locally, or brought in through trade or colonial exploitation? And who were the silversmiths? Navajo artists adapted techniques learned from European colonizers but infused them with their own cultural vision. This blending and reclaiming of materials and processes is central to understanding this piece. Editor: So, it's not just about admiring the final product, but about the journey of the materials and the hands that shaped them? Curator: Precisely! The turquoise is equally important. Different mines yield different colors and qualities, and these stones themselves carried trade value. Examining the techniques used—the stamping, the setting of the stones—tells us about the artisan's skill, but also the availability of tools and technologies within the Navajo community at this time. Each element carries a story of production and exchange. How might the value ascribed to the piece relate to trading it for other goods? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. I tend to think of art in a vacuum, but understanding the context of its creation sheds a whole new light on its meaning. It moves from being purely decorative to carrying embedded narratives of people, place, and economic exchange. Curator: Exactly! And that's where the true power and relevance of art like this resides. Always consider how things are produced and circulated, and it changes your view entirely.