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Types of Native American Indian bracelets
DESCRIPTION: General categories of Native American jewelry include metalwork and beadwork; bracelet styles were different in every American Indian tribe: the Zoni, Navajo and Hopi styles.
There are two very general categories of Native American jewelry: metalwork, and beadwork.
Bracelet styles were different in every American Indian tribe, but the differences were less marked than with other arts and crafts, because jewelry and the materials used for making it - beads, shells, copper and silver, ivory, amber, turquoise, agate, jasper, coral and other stones - were major trade items.
Beadwork bracelets are beads stitched together into strings or a mesh, using sinew, thread or wire. In metalwork, sterling is the most common material used. The designs commonly reflect the integration and harmony of the mineral and animal kingdom, or religious images such as kachinas, the sun face or other ritual designs.
The Zuni are considered by many to be the premiere jewelers of all American Indian, as each Zuni piece is constructed rather than cast. The designs require precision use of cut stones. Definitive Zuni techniques include: clusters - small stones, most commonly in rows; needlepoint - many tiny, carefully matched cabochons with pointed ends placed in straight or curved lines and set; petit point - uses teardrop-shaped stones; mosaics - stones, shell or found objects arranged in random and irregular patterns; and, channel work - stones cut, polished and inlaid in a shared bezel to create a smooth, shiny surface on a continuous plane.
The Navajo employ decorative metal techniques with copper and silver, called "metal of the mon." The pieces are decorative like coins refashioned to make buttons, and do not represent any symbolism. The Navajo typically make single pieces usually only containing a single kind of stone in a setting.
Hopi silver work is distinct for its technique of silver overlay and matte black background. It made realistic depictions of kachinas to stylized designs that include the forces of nature. Hopi work generally includes a hallmark to identify the artist, sometimes their initials, a symbol of their clan or some other symbol.
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