Vintage Santo Domingo or Kewa Pueblo Depression Era Tab Necklace

You've likely seen the old "depression era" thunderbird necklaces that came out of Santo Domingo or Kewa Pueblo. They were feats of ingenuity and resilience made during the Great Depression when fine jewelry materials like coral and turquoise were scarce. Resourceful Kewa artists made do with old car battery casings, toothbrushes, bones and phonograph records. It was the ultimate in eco-friendly upcycling before it was a thing.

Those thunderbird necklaces from Kewa Pueblo were charming and creative pieces of Native American folk art jewelry. The Wheelwright Museum even held an exhibition on them. 

Perhaps you love the idea of those necklaces, but you don't see yourself wearing the bold thunderbird design. That's what makes this mosaic inlay tab necklace from Santo Domingo or Kewa Pueblo extra attractive. 

Likely from the later "depression era," the necklace also makes use of some ingeniously recycled materials in the mosaic inlay. There are substitutes like battery casings, records and toothbrushes where it looks like jet, white shell and coral. There are natural stones in this necklace too, though. Parts of each tab are turquoise and the beads are pipestone. That means the necklace is a special combination of "make-do" materials and real ones. In fact, even though the black "jet" backing isn't natural, it still shows the markings from the maker's tools. Run your fingers along each tab and see.  

It's a beautiful combination of colors and materials, a bit more subdued from some that we see. It used to have a Pueblo cotton wrap that became quite worn down over the years. Now it's been restrung with a Pueblo braided wrap so that you can tie it to the length of your choice. 

This wearable piece of history measures a very long 45" from end to end. The portion with beads and tabs measures 23" from end to end, so there's a lot of room to adjust to the length you'd like. The tabs are handmade, and there's a slight variance in length and width. They're about 1 1/4" long. Unsigned.

Necklace comes from a significant collection of Native American jewelry that was acquired over a lifetime. It's in really good condition now that it has been restrung.

• Vintage Santo Domingo or Kewa "Depression Era" Necklace
• Handmade mosaic inlay tabs
• Natural and recycled materials
• Turquoise & Pipestone
• Car battery casings, toothbrushes and phonograph records
• Handmade Pueblo wrap
• 45" from end to end
• Ties at neck
• From a significant collection of Native American jewelry.