silver dollar necklace with naja pendant

unrecorded Diné (Navajo) artist, artist

silver dollar necklace with naja pendant, 1945–1980

Where object was made: Southwestern United States

Material/technique: turquoise; silver

Dimensions:
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 40 x 11 cm
Object Length/Width (Length x Width): 4 5/16 x 15 3/4 in

Credit line: Gift of Joseph P. Antonow

Accession number: 2007.1489

Not on display

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Label texts

The 1910 Franciscan Father’s ethnologic dictionary of the Navajo language describes squash blossom necklaces as follows: “Usually they have a large crescent-shaped pendant [the naja] in the front center, and in the lower half of the strand small silver crosses, and other flowerlike ornaments are strung after every second or third bead.” This later example incorporates Morgan silver dollars instead of squash blossom beads. The dollars and dimes used to make these beads date from between 1879 and 1945, and were likely acquired by the silversmith when Navajo jewelry became popular among tourists in the 1960s and 1970s.

Exhibition Label:
“This Land,” Mar-2014, Kate Meyer
The 1910 Franciscan Father’s ethnologic dictionary of the Navajo language describes squash blossom necklaces as follows: “Usually they have a large crescent-shaped pendant [the naja] in the front center, and in the lower half of the strand small silver crosses, and other flowerlike ornaments are strung after every second or third bead.” This later example incorporates Morgan silver dollars instead of squash blossom beads. The dollars and dimes used to make these beads date from between 1879 and 1945, and were likely acquired by the silversmith when Navajo jewelry became popular among tourists in the 1960s and 1970s.