Vintage Navajo squash blossom

Vintage Navajo squash blossom. This unique offering features 12 blossoms with a medium sized Naja all strung between 134 handmade silver beads ! Each of the blossoms have 3 pieces of turquoise with the Naja having 20 stones for a total of 56 turquoise stones in the necklace.There are no earrings. This is wonderful example of a tradional Navajo squash blossom. 

The history of the Sqaush Blossom:While squash blossom imagery can be found in petroglyphs (rock art) that pre-date European contact in the Southwest, Dubin said the squash blossom necklace was created in the late 1870s or early 1880s after the native people of the area contacted Spanish Mexicans. The Navajo, it is believed, were the first tribe to adopt the design, but by the early 1900s, the art form had spread to neighboring tribes, including the Zuni and the Pueblo. While the entire necklace has taken its name from one type of bead, the classic squash blossom necklace has three distinct parts: the plain round beads; the round beads Naja. 

Length: 24" 

Naja: 1-3/4" x 1-5/8" 

Materials: sterling silver & turquosie