Vintage Sterling Silver Native Navajo Pawn BEN CHAVEZ Sun Stamped Bar Pin Brooch

  

We have similar Navajo and Stamped items, which would pair nicely with this piece, for sale this week. Listing Description by: Angela A. Age Circa: Vintage Native Navajo C. Chavez" and "Sterling on the back of the brooch, tested, and guaranteed. Country of Origin: United States - Navajo Nation.

Gram Weight: 7.8 grams. Pin/Brooch Style: Brooch, lapel pin, hat pin, scarf pin, tie pin. Closure Type: Pin stem with locking "c" clasp. Convertible to Necklace Pendant: If desired, your local jeweler can add a bale to this piece so it can be worn as a pendant.

Handmade during the 1980s by talented Navajo artisan Ben J. Features hand-hammered stamping designs on the face of the brooch, including three syn symbols with lines depicting north, south, east, and west. Geometric stamping designs frame the sun symbols along the edges of the brooch. Completed with a pin stem with a locking "c" clasp, allowing it to be worn on a variety of accessories, including hats, scarves, and lapels, among many others. Tarnish on the sterling silver gives this piece an antique quality which we believe is quite lovely.

This listing is for the item only. This beautiful piece was made by a very talented Native American silversmith. It features handcrafted silversmith work throughout.

Antique Native American jewelry is very rare to find. This is due to these pieces being made for reservation and personal use before the tourist trade became popular.

Very few pieces were made and even less survived to today. The concept of Pawn, Old Pawn, and Dead Pawn Native American Jewelry came to be in the 1800s. When a loan wasnt repaid, the item became known as either Old Pawn or Dead Pawn.

The Navajo Nation sits on 27,000 square miles within the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The Navajo have a rich history and culture and have become known for creating some of the finest sterling silver and turquoise jewelry, incorporating their own traditional motifs with silversmithing. The squash blossom necklace is perhaps one of the most famous Navajo styles produced, along with turquoise inlay rings. Turquoise is an important stone in Navajo culture; symbolizing happiness, good fortune, and good health. The first Navajo silversmith, Atsidi Sani, was taught around 1865 by a Mexican silversmith.

Atsidi Sani in turn taught his four sons, who then started teaching other Navajo artisans. In the beginning, Navajo artisans created sterling silver jewelry for themselves and others in the Navajo Nation.

Navajo silversmiths, working from 1870 to 1900, learned about stamping from Mexican leather workers, and adopted this to their metal working. Artisans made their own stamps that were passed down to each generation. Stampings are usually hand hammered using handcrafted or die stamps and include traditional Native American symbols, such as sunbursts, to ornate landscapes.

This technique has been passed on and utilized by other Native American tribes and continues to be a popular method of jewelry making. The item "Vintage Sterling Silver Native Navajo Pawn BEN CHAVEZ Sun Stamped Bar Pin Brooch" is in sale since Wednesday, March 17, 2021.

This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Ethnic, Regional & Tribal\Brooches & Pins". The seller is "abeautifultimeco" and is located in Fort Collins, Colorado. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Country of Origin: United States - Navajo Nation
• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Ethnic Origin: Southwestern
• Metal Purity: .
  925
• Artisan: Dan Chavez
• Main Stone: No Stone
• Metal: Sterling Silver
• Jewelry Type: Pins
• Tribal Affiliation: Navajo
• Ethnic & Regional Style: Native American