NAVAJO JEWELRY MAKING TECHNIQUES – INGOT

From Perry Null Trading Company

JEWELRY MAKING TECHNIQUES – INGOT

In-got /ˈiNGɡət/ (noun) – a block of steel, gold, silver, or other metal, typically oblong in shape.

When the Navajo first learned how to make silver jewelry, they had to be very innovated. The luxury of modern tools or a supply store where they could purchase silver was still decades away. Instead they would collect silver coins until they had enough to make a piece of jewelry. How they turned that silver into a piece of jewelry involved a couple of different techniques. One of these techniques was using an ingot. Today’s silversmiths pride themselves on knowing how to use this technique because it is what the first smiths used. Plus, it is a labor-intensive process that requires a number of steps, almost like the artist becomes more invested in the work.

I try and imagine the setting in which those early smiths made their jewelry. Maybe they constructed an additional hogan next to their family hogan to work silver, or they just created a space inside the family hogan. The workspace would be a dirt floor with a limited number of tools. Then they would have to figure out a way to heat the silver to over 1700 degrees so it could melt. This heating the silver would happen several times during the course of making the piece. These early pieces would be thick and would have a simple design. Also, they wouldn’t have any turquoise. It was a new craft where the craftsman was proud to have acquired the skill and it would become the mission of Navajo silversmiths to perfect this craft.

A number of silversmiths will make pieces of jewelry using the ingot technique. Many times, you will find they have stamped the inside of the work INGOT. Navajo silversmith Derrick Gordon is going to take us through the process of making a piece using ingot techniques.

LIQUIFYING THE SILVER

New Mexico which included Arizona didn’t become part of the United States until 1848. This is very close to the time the Navajo first learn silversmithing. In 1851 the United States Government shows up by building Fort Defiance. The Navajo are in contact with soldiers from this fort and also with the Mexicans in the area. That means they would have access to silver coins. Our first pieces of Navajo silver jewelry are going to be made from these coins. You will find a handful of Navajo silversmiths that still use only coins to make their ingot pieces. Coin silver is 90% silver, commonly used sterling silver is 92.5% silver. It is not much of a difference, but the coin silver is softer and easier to work than sterling.

When an artist goes to purchase sterling silver from a supply house they will pay over the spot (market) price. The supply house will offer different over spot prices depending on how much you spend with them. For example, say the market price of silver is $15 and the price offered is $1 over spot, that means the artist is going to pay $16 per troy ounce of silver. That price would be for something like plate silver, but when the artist wants certain wires, they can be significantly over the spot price. During the jewelry making process the artist will start to build a pile of scrap silver. Now, they can take this scrap and sell it back at a discounted price to the supply house and then buy silver for their next piece above the market price. It is a better decision to use thr scrap.

Derrick makes his ingot pieces using coin and scrap silver. This example is using scrap silver.

BLOCKS OF SILVER & ROLLING (HAMMERING)

Once the amount of silver needed has been collected the next step in the process is to get it into a working shape. The silver will have to be heated until it reaches a liquid form. Derrick does this by using an acetylene torch. Early smiths would have used a fire and a bellow to move the air to make the fire burn hotter. Once the silver reaches a liquid form it is poured into a form where the silver will once again harden. These forms can take on any desired shape. Once traders became involved in promoting the business and working different silversmiths, they would often supply one once plugs to the silversmith. Derrick uses a 4” x 3” form.

This is just the beginning. After the silversmith has made the ingot the silver is going to be manipulated into a desired shape to begin making the piece of jewelry. In the old days a hammer and an anvil would have been the equipment to manipulate the silver. Today, a number of silversmiths incorporate the use of a roller. Derrick uses a roller where he continuously feeds the ingot until he gets the shape of silver he wants to work.

THE DESIGN

You will see that Derrick is working on making a naja for his necklace. He has drawn out his design and then begins the process of bending the silver into the shape he needs. After that he will use files to get the desired look. One reason he has used an ingot to create this naja is that he can’t buy a piece of triangle wire this size. This is a very labor-intensive process of filing and the end result gives him a very unique look. A silversmith who wanted to make this same style would not be able to imitate the design by buying wire from a supply shop. The result would be a very different look and not as impressive.

This process describes what it means to use ingot silver. We will look at other jewelry making techniques in the future to help you understand how your piece of authentic Native American jewelry was made.

Blueberry Turquoise

From the Blueberry Mine, north of Kingman, comes an interesting turquoise that often has pyrite mixed in it. So you are saying, I never heard of the Blueberry Turquoise Mine, well, me either. Apparently it just opened earlier in 2019 and is is producing large nuggets at times.

No this isn’t Hidden Valley or Cloud Mountain or Golden Hills, the mines which are producing some the better Chinese turquoise, this is good old American Southwest turquoise.

Turquoise from mines in China accounts for about 80% of the stone on the U.S. market today, due to the scarcity of American turquoise. Only a handful of turquoise mines in the American southwest are commercially operating.

It’s great to see an American mine opening, as most of them have closed due to high operating costs compared to Chinese mines.

Cerrilos Turquoise

One of our favorite diversions is a trip to the mines to dig our own turquoise around Cerrilos.

King Manassa – Colorado Turquoise

The King’s Manassa turquoise mine, or more accurately the “King Turquoise Mine”, is located near Manassa, Colorado. It is one of the many turquoise deposits which was actively mined by Native Americans for centuries. I.P. King rediscovered the mine in 1890, and the King family has operated it ever since. It was originally called the Lick Skillet Mine.

Otteson – Royston – Thunderbird and Blackjack Mines

We are planning a trip to Toponah soon to check out some of the Royston mines featured in the Amazon Prime series, Turquoise Fever:

https://ottesonbrothersturquoise.com/mine-tours

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nevada/turquoise-mine-tour-nv/

Best Place to Get Navajo Pearls

https://www.silverpearlranch.com/navajo-pearls-silver-beads

In 2023, even Polo Ralph Lauren is getting in on Navajo jewelry for 2023 with some of our friends and they have a new line of wool garments as well that they are promoting as part of a Dine in residence program.

___________________________________

For over a millennium, people in the Southwest have utilized turquoise for ornamental and ceremonial purposes, as well as for trading precious stones both locally and beyond the region. Turquoise symbolizes water and sky, prosperity, well-being, and safeguarding. The blue-green hue signifies creation and the desire for security and beauty. These concepts were deemed so significant that if turquoise was not accessible, its color was symbolized through alternative means.

Throughout history, individuals have endeavored to capture the essence of turquoise’s color. At times, the color held more significance than the material itself.

Wooden pendants dating back to 1200 AD were coated with green malachite paint. Anasazi pottery featured designs with parallel, diagonal lines, prompting viewers to envision blue-green shades where none existed. To enhance the stone’s blue tones, the Navajo soaked it in sheep’s tallow.

By the 1920s, the demand for turquoise surpassed its availability. To meet the needs of tourists flocking to the Southwest, Hubbell Trading Post had Venetian glass crafted to mimic the coveted stone. Native American artisans would utilize these beautifully hued faux stones when genuine turquoise was scarce.

Similarly, as ancient craftsmen painted wooden pendants to replicate the desired color, synthetic turquoise now mirrors the allure of the authentic gem at a more affordable price. If the color captures the essence, it is considered a treasure. However, discerning buyers mindful of the quality of their purchase should exercise caution.

The color of turquoise is a reflection of its surroundings. Proximity to aluminum yields turquoise-green hues, while zinc imparts a yellowish-green tint. The highest-quality turquoise, showcasing the most vibrant colors, is typically found near the surface. Exposed to sunlight and the elements, turquoise may lighten over time.

Irrespective of its color variation, turquoise carries prestige and power. Deities in Native American folklore wield weapons and reside in dwellings crafted from turquoise. The Apache believe that turquoise fills the pot at the end of the rainbow. In Zuni ceremonies, turquoise-hued face paint, masks, and body adornments symbolize Awonauilona, the life-affirming power of the sun.

The potency of turquoise is such that no horseman would ride while carrying turquoise, as it was believed to tire the horse. Hunters would draw lines with turquoise between game tracks to slow their quarry. Hung in households, turquoise was believed to ward off misfortune.

Turquoise jewelry, including bracelets, necklaces, and rings, served as portable assets; historically, Native Americans used these pieces as collateral when trading for essential goods. When they sold their produce or wool, the traders were repaid, and the jewelry was reclaimed.

It is estimated that Native Americans had been mining turquoise for approximately 1200 years before the arrival of the Spanish, with peak mining activities occurring between AD 1350 and 1600. Around 200 turquoise mines have been unearthed across the Southwest, with most believed to have been initiated by Native Americans who employed shaped stone tools to extract the precious stone from the rock.

The largest ancient turquoise mine was discovered near Cerrillos, NM, at Mount Chalchihuitl. Turquoise sourced from mines in the Cerrillos region, over 150 miles to the southeast, has been identified at Chaco Canyon.

The evolution of turquoise jewelry paralleled the era of conquest. During their 800-year rule in Spain, the Moors introduced crescent moons and pomegranate blossom motifs to Spanish culture. Spanish explorers, in search of gold and silver, rode into Native American communities adorned with crescent-adorned bridles.

The Navajo, especially, liked the symbol. They traded for it or captured it. The shape of the crescent became a naja at the base of a squash blossom necklace. Pomegranate blooms, a pattern used widely by the Spanish, inspired the squash blossoms themselves.

It is widely believed that the first recognized Native American blacksmith, Atsidi Sani, learned the craft from a Mexican blacksmith while touring “Navajo Land” with an American Indian agent in 1853. He may have added silversmithing to his skills during or after he was held prisoner at Fort Sumner, after he and his people were forced to relocate from Arizona.

Atsidi Sani and his students spread the skill. Zuni craftsmen learned the skill from Navajo teachers. Over the years, techniques and styles comingled, in lavish ways such as Navajo silver-stamped boxes decorated with Zuni inlay work.

Contemporary Artistic Expressions

Because of the work of contemporary Native art founders Charles Loloma, Kenneth Begay and others, current Native American jewelers no longer have to meet the expectations of viewers who only know Native American art as “traditional.”

Instead, they are free to merge their own inspirations with the skills and traditions they have learned throughout their lives.

Among them are Angie Reano Owen (Santo Domingo) – who, looking for a new avenue for creation amid the traffic jam of 1970s heishi, revived inlaid jewelry traditions – and Na Na Ping (Pascua Yaqui), whose elegant inlaid jewelry bears the work of a true lapidary, with stones that are meticulously cobbled together.

Both also took their paths away from tradition to reach their artistic vision. Owen merges the old (such as using wood as the backing for a bracelet) with the new (the black matrix that outlines each stone in her mosaics). Ping cuts stone with the skill taught to him by his uncles, but combines the stones in modernistic blends of color and angularity.

Like many modern Native jewelers, both are able to express their traditions in a contemporary voice.

TURQUOISE FACTS

Despite turquoise’s close identification in the US with the Southwest, other parts of the world have long held turquoise in high esteem.

Turquoise was used on the gold funeral mask of King Tutankhamen in Ancient Egypt.

- The oldest turquoise mines in the world, operated for thousands of years, are in Iran.

- The word “turquoise” comes from the French name for a beautiful blue stone they thought came from Turkey, but was actually from Persia.

- Turquoise is formed in arid regions by infrequent precipitation flowing through host rock and depositing minerals and salts. It is in these same regions – the US Southwest, central and northern Mexico, Andean South America, Tibet and Uzbekistan – that it is most valued as a gem stone.

- The Zuni word for turquoise can be translated as “sky stone.” This link between turquoise and sky is also true outside the Southwest; for example, in Tibet, the sky is sometimes called “the turquoise of Heaven.”

- Pueblo dancers wear turquoise regalia during the summer growing season to ensure rain.

- The stone’s color ranges from white (called chalk), to deep blue, pale blue, florescent yellow-green, deep green, and everything in between, but it’s the color and shape of the matrix, the veins of the host rock that run through turquoise, that contribute to its prestige and value.

- Turquoise is a soft stone and changes color as it is worn, becoming darker and greener. In many parts of the world it is believed that turquoise absorbs poisons and protect the wearer, or alternatively, that its color reflects the health of its wearer.

- Shell and turquoise are often used together. Both allude to water, one based on origin and the other on color, with the pairing intensifying the water symbolism.

The Navajo link turquoise to protection and health. At birth, babies receive their first turquoise beads. The stone, in both whole and crushed form, is also included in puberty rites, marriage and initiation ceremonies, in healing ceremonies and other rituals. With the stone so intertwined with every stage of Navajo life, it is no coincidence that they are famed for their turquoise jewelry.

*adapted from https://www.indianartsandculture.org/whatsnew/&releaseID=292#:~:text=The%20Navajo%20link%20turquoise%20to,healing%20ceremonies%20and%20other%20rituals.