6-Strand Necklace
1 of 4
Object Label
In their creation story, the Navajo entered the upperworld—the earth—and found a vast expanse of water. With coral-tipped turquoise shovels they dug channels, draining the water and revealing the land. In fact, turquoise is the most frequently mentioned precious material in the accounts of their origins.
Turquoise is carved into beads and used as whole stones for personal adornment, powdered to make sand for sand paintings, and mixed with water to make paint. The blue color represents water, a precious resource in the southwestern desert. Turquoise is found in every aspect of Navajo peoples’ lives.
Caption
Navajo. 6-Strand Necklace, ca. 1920s. Coral, silver, turquoise, cloth, 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marjorie Ruth Wagner, 71.57.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 71.57.1_side_installation_PS5.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
6-Strand Necklace
Date
ca. 1920s
Geography
Place made: United States
Medium
Coral, silver, turquoise, cloth
Classification
Dimensions
15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Marjorie Ruth Wagner
Accession Number
71.57.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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