Necklace c. 1910

Curator: Let’s take a look at this striking necklace, created around 1910 by a Navajo artist. It’s a stunning example of Diné craftsmanship. Editor: It makes me think of desert moonlight on skin – something about the cool silver against warm earth tones. What is it made of? Curator: Principally silver, along with fibre and potentially other metals. The design incorporates those characteristic silver beads and "squash blossom" elements we associate with Navajo jewelry. And a large “naja” pendant at the bottom. Editor: The repetition of the spherical beads has such a meditative rhythm to it. Tell me, what did squash blossoms represent, originally? Curator: That's an interesting question. The "squash blossom" is actually a misnomer. It's believed these are based on the pomegranate designs worn by the Spanish. You see how they're attached where the spheres connect? The labour invested here, hand-crafting each component, that speaks volumes. The materials had to be sourced, traded, shaped... It wasn't just plucked from nature; it represents an exchange, skill, a history. Editor: I love that. Everything from how they were constructed to the cultural context informs the feeling. The naja seems protective somehow. It has this gravity. The colours too, that pop of green from the malachite against the matte silver... Curator: Turquoise, another crucial aspect of Indigenous metalwork that became an exchange, a signifier, an industry of cultural capital as such! Think about trade routes, access to tools and metals through complex colonial infrastructures – these necklaces became incredibly popular consumer products, but also a form of resilience. The naja shape—do you see how that reflects the arch in traditional Navajo homes? A protective sign from that domestic space! Editor: Right! I didn't make the hogan connection at first! Seeing how design is intrinsically linked to protection and craft makes me think how so much of design erases such narratives today. Thank you! Curator: Precisely! Material culture encodes history. We have a great deal more to uncover.