Comments for Complete circle turquoise squash blossom necklace

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Western Style Naja
by: Anonymous

Since this is not stamped with a silver mark of any kind, or an artisan signature, I have doubts that it is Native American. It maybe made of Alpaca which is not sterling but a silver metal alloy. The earrings tell us that this is a set which was made prior to the change in style for non pierced earrings (they moved to clip ons backs at the beginning of the 1970's ) so this dates c 1960's.

In the 60's there was a huge resurgence in popularity for native jewellery and garments such as fringed deerskin beaded moccasins, jackets, tunics, pants, belts and dresses.

This resulted in the production of native type items which were very well made, but not made by Native American or Canadian tribes, but large commercial companies which were able to mass produced the items in numbers large enough to fill the demand. The trend began in California, (as many do) and was part of the then called " hippie " movement.

I suggest you have this tested for silver. The base on this (the najahe) is depicted in a more western style which we generally see on chrome blossom necklaces made with plastic rather than turquoise. The closed najahe (naja) are not commonly used on Native made pieces . The closed versions were made this way to make them more mainstream for buyers. In fact the najahe doesn't quite look like the right one for the necklace.

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