Vintage Navajo Silver Naja Pendant Set With Turquoise

About the Piece: Vintage Navajo Silver Naja Pendant Set With Turquoise

The naja is a beloved symbol of Southwestern Native American jewelry. It's closely associated with squash blossom necklaces, but its history goes back to antiquity. According to tradition, Alexander the Great's celebrated horse, Bucephalus, had a crescent shaped white marking on his forehead. Eventually, a crescent shaped ornament appeared on horse bridles in the Mediterranean world.

The form traveled to Spain and, centuries later, Spanish horsemen brought crescent-shaped bridle ornaments with them to the Americas. Native Peoples of the Southwest encountered these ornaments on Spanish and Mexican horses, and by the late nineteenth century Navajo silversmiths translated this form into their own.

You don't have to wear the naja on a squash blossom necklace. In fact, it's much easier if you don't, because the necklaces are heavy and expensive. Instead, you can wear the naja form as a pendant. 

This one vintage navajo naja pendant is large and striking. It's made of sterling silver and set with a single turquoise stone. The bale has a large enough opening that you could place it on your own single strand of Navajo pearl beads for an extra impressive look.

It's from the collection of some wonderful and long-time Native American jewelry lovers.

The naja pendant measures 3 1/2" from top of bale to bottom x 2 1/4". The bale has a 1/2" opening for your 1/4" - 3/8" beads. The piece is unsigned. The pendant will come to you on a leather strap that you can tie.

Summary:

Item: Vintage Navajo Silver Naja Pendant Set With Turquoise

Attribution: Navajo

Materials: Silver and Turquoise

Dimensions: pendant measures 3 1/2" from top of bale to bottom x 2 1/4". The bale has a 1/2" opening

Signature: unsigned

Provenance: It's from the collection of some wonderful and long-time Native American jewelry lovers