DEAD PAWN JEWELRY. For the Southwestern Native Americans, pawn refers to the practice of converting artwork and possessions into cash. In times of need, jewelry and other items of value can be easily used as security with an authorized trader (pawned) for cash to meet the current crisis. These items serve as the family "reserve" or "emergency" fund. Pawn is also used by many Native Americans in the same way that a safety deposit box would be used. The jewelry is "pawned" for safe keeping in between religious ceremonies or other special occasions. The lender keeps it for the agreed amount of time, and if the loan or pawn fees are not paid off by the agreed date, the pawn shop or trader is authorized to sell the jewelry. If jewelry is not redeemed by its owner by the expiration date, the piece is referred to as Dead Pawn.
FRED HARVEY ERA. The Santa Fe Railway and the Fred Harvey Company with its hotels, restaurants, and shops joined forces to promote mass tourism to the Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and Southern California by train over the years from 1896 through the mid-1960s when rail travel mostly died out. No one did more than Fred Harvey to introduce the superb art of the Southwest's Native Americans to the rest of the nation by packaging the Southwest as a leisure-time destination. The Fred Harvey Company, as it "civilized" the southwest, enticed American tourists to visit. As part of the business, Navajo and Pueblo silversmiths (as well as other craftsmen) were hired to create souvenirs. The Harvey Company supplied the artisans with sheet silver and pre-cut turquoise. The downside of course was that because of the quantity of trinkets needed and the type of material supplied, the quality of the jewelry diminished. Nonetheless, Fred Harvey jewelry is still very popular today.
COIN SILVER, STERLING SILVER, MEXICAN SILVER.
STERLING SILVER is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. Today most Sterling silver objects are usually stamped with either the word "Sterling" or ".925". But a great majority of the older Native American handcrafted jewelry was unsigned and unmarked.
COIN SILVER is 90% silver and 10% copper. Coin Silver is lower grade than sterling. The Coin Silver standard was established in the US in the 1820s. This grade of silver was used in the silver coinage of the US hence the term "coin" silver. Before the practice was outlawed, I believe Native Americans would sometimes melt down silver coins and reuse them to create jewelry.
MEXICAN SILVER is purer than sterling, usually 95% Silver and 5% Copper.
TURQUOISE : NATURAL, TREATED, STABILIZED, ENHANCED. Generally, turquoise can exist in one of two forms. Natural or virgin turquoise has simply been shaped and polished, and has not been treated in any way. Treated turquoise has been changed through addition or processing. This procedure will make the sensitive gemstone sturdier. While natural turquoise is often the most desirable, keep in mind that simply because turquoise is treated, it does not mean it is of lower quality. In fact, stabilization usually enhances the quality of the stone making the color more vibrant and the stone harder and less prone to chips and cracks.
Among the ways of treating turquoise, treatments can include wax, staining, plastics impregnation or colloidal silica deposition. These methods stabilize the turquoise, and when successful, they darken the color and fill in the pores in the stone. Stabilizing treatments can also increase stone hardness and therefore its shearing strength, making it easier for artisans to work with it. However, the kind of treatment differs considerably. It makes sense, that naturally beautiful stones which have simply been waxed or hardened with artificial resin achieve higher prices and are more valuable than stones that have received color-enhancement.
JEWELRY MAKING TERMS.
BEZEL. A thin strip of silver around a stone that is soldered to the silver base. It can be flat, scalloped or saw-toothed.
INLAY. A design of individually cut pieces of shell or stone, set next to one another, then ground flat on top and level with the surrounding silver.
CHANNEL INLAY. A design of shell or stone set with a silver bezel between each stone. The stones are sanded level and polished.
ETCHED INLAY. Ornamentation where a picture or design is etched into the surface of the stone or inlay.
PETIT POINT. An oval stone ground to a fine point at one end, rounded at the other end and set in a silver bezel.
NEEDLEPOINT. An oval stone ground to fine points at both ends and set in a silver bezel.
SNAKE EYE. A series of very small, round stones, each of which is set in a bezel.
CLUSTER. A group of large tear-drop or round stones individually set in silver bezels, usually clustered around a single center stone or medallion.
HEISHI. Shell that has been cut, drilled and ground into round pieces and strung on a necklace. One strand may consist of several hundred pieces.
REPOUSSE. A metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side.
CHASING. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. While repoussé is used to work on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design on the front, chasing is used to refine the design from the front of the work by sinking the metal with a groove, furrow, channel or indentation. ANTIQUING. Technically referred to as oxidization, antiquing is a process of darkening silver with a chemical to create contrast or to accent a silverwork design. This process also gives the silver an antiqued look.
SILVER OVERLAY TECHNIQUE. This technique uses multiple layers of sterling silver soldered together to create a three dimensional effect. The top layer is a handmade, hand cut overlay created from a sheet of sterling that is then bonded to the base layer of sterling. The base layer background is usually oxidized, which turns the silver surface black, and is often scratched or stamped. The oxidation brings out a contrast between the two pieces and makes the individual designs more visible.
HERE'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF SILVER OVERLAY TECHNIQUE BY NAVAJO ARTIST TOMMY SINGER
CAST or SANDCAST. One early technique still used by Navajo silversmiths is making silver castings in sand or stone molds. The artist carves a design into damp sand or tufa (a porous volcanic stone). Pumice or sandstone may also be used. A second flat stone is secured on top to complete the mold. Silver is then melted in a crucible and it is poured into the mold through a carved channel. If it is the proper temperature, it flows through to the bottom where it cools and hardens, filling the design space. Air vents allow steam to escape, preventing air bubbles from forming in the cooling silver. After cooling, the stones are separated and the casting is removed. Any silver not part of the overall design is cut off. The silver is then filed smooth. At this point the finishing begins with filing, stamp work, soldering on findings. adding stones. cleaning and buffing.
The piece poured from the tufa mold can be used as a model when a design turns out attractive. It is possible to repeat the design over indefinitely using casting sand. The model is placed face up at the bottom of a frame. The casting sand is pounded down over the model until the frame is filled and firmly packed. The frame is covered with plywood cut to size to keep the sand from falling out. The mold is turned over so that the model can be removed. After it is carefully lifted out of the sand, all that's left is the impression. Another frame is filled with sand and pounded until firmly packed. This frame is the smooth side of the mold. It is also covered with plywood and turned over. The surface is smoothed out so it is perfectly flat. From here the method of preparing the mold and pouring are the same as tufa.
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