Navajo silver hogan box-Pawn Jewelry

Navajo handcrafted Hogan box by artist Emerson Thompson. The traditional design of the hogan features 8 sides with a roof that hinges open. The Hogan is a dwelling for the Navajo "Dine" culture. It is built of logs, twigs, mud and rocks. Although today most are used not as dwellings but as ceremonial places. It is rare to see one as a piece of jewelry. 

It comes attached to its original red pawn ticket.The term "pawn" refers to jewelry that has been pawned to brokers. The practice of pawning jewelry began in the early 1900s when Native Americans and traders would exchange jewelry for food and other necessities, it is still used today and is embedded in the Navajo culture. 

Material: Sterling silver & turquoise

Tribe affiliation: Navajo

Time period: current 

 Measurement: 2" x 2" x 1-1/2"