Wrist Guard
Object Label
Silver entered the southwest through trade with Europeans, and was readily added to the accoutrements of the Navajo people. In the 1850s, Atsidi Sani (Old Smith) became the first Navajo man to learn silversmithing. From him, techniques such as soldering and appliqué spread throughout the tribe, and by 1880 many Navajos had mastered the art. In large singular inlays or clusters of stone, turquoise began to appear on silver ornaments as a sign of wealth and status. The more silver and turquoise an individual had, the higher his or her status in the eyes of other Navajos.
Caption
Navajo. Wrist Guard, 20th century. Hide, turquoise, silver, 3 5/8 x 2 1/2 in. (9.2 x 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.158. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Wrist Guard
Date
20th century
Medium
Hide, turquoise, silver
Classification
Dimensions
3 5/8 x 2 1/2 in. (9.2 x 6.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
86.224.158
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
How did the turquoise come to be used in the Americas?
The word turquoise dates to the 17th century and is derived from the French "turquoise" for Turkish because the mineral was first brought to Europe through Turkey.Native Americans had their own names for the stone, which also occurred naturally in the US and was mined here! For example, among the Navajo, the word for the color is Dootł'izh.Awesome, thanks!!!
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