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| Mother-of-Pearl earrings with turquoise additions. Photo credit Venaya Yazzie ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2015 |
Jewelry adornments made from natural shell have been utilized by Southwestern Indigenous People for hundreds of years. Though the desert people do not live by water, the nearest source is the Pacific Ocean. For the Navajo and the Pueblo people, shell products are embedded not only in the Indigenous Adornment culture, but also play a vital role in the origin stories, including those of creation.
These earrings were acquired by me from a antique shop. The 'white shell' or mother of pearl shell teardrops are a 'vintage' shell. The shop keeper told me they are from the 1960s. I added the turquoise pieces later. They are beautiful and one of my many favorites to adorn.
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