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JAMI010
Navajo
Southwestern USA
Naja necklace
Silver, turquoise
Length 30 in., pendant 2¾ in. Weight: approx. 150 grams.
Excellent
Sold
This necklace is handwrought of sterling silver globular beads strung singly and in symmetrical double rows. The double rows are accented by serrated spacers every three beads that terminate in small elegantly formed "najas". "Naja" is the Navajo word for "crescent" or "crescent moon". The pendant is cast in sterling silver with simple engraving, embellished with a central turquoise stone, and terminates in abstract variants of "Fatima's hands" which harkens back to the possible Eastern origin of this design. Most scholars agree that the naja was inspired by sterling silver crescents attached to horse trappings brought over by the Spanish, the design having originated with the Spanish Moors. This is a fine example of pawned jewelry from a Native American Reservation. The pawn system was in effect at least as early as 1881 and it enabled the people on the reservation to weather lean times and acted as a safety deposit box where they could store their most valuable pieces. "Old pawn" jewelry is valued today as a source for collectors of traditional Native American adornment, which was made for indigenous use rather than the tourist market. This piece was created in the 1940's.