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A large and superbly-crafted historic Navajo tufa-cast
silver and turquoise cross pendant with a handmade Sterling silver link chain by Ambrose Roanhorse, c.1950’s
This beautiful large cross pendant necklace by the Internationally renowned Navajo silversmith, educator and Co-Founder of The Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild, Ambrose Roanhorse (1904-1982) has a strikingly modernist, yet classic design sensibility and a formidable technical virtuosity and command of traditional Navajo jewelry-making methods. This is all completely consistent with the beautiful refined appearance and extremely high technical level
of achievement we have always associated with Roanhorse’s exceptional silverwork. This is the primary reason why he remains the only Navajo silversmith in history to have ever been awarded the honorific title of “Beshlakai Nataani” or “Leading silversmith of the Navajo Nation”, a title bestowed on him in1959 by the Navajo Tribal authority.
Earlier, in 1954, the French Government had also officially recognized Roanhorse’s superior achievements by awarding him their prestigious “Palmes Academique” award.
The cross hangs from a finely hand-crafted silver saddle attached to a handmade silver chain in which all the links have been meticulously hand soldered. The entire necklace measures 15 1/2" in length from the top of the silver clasp to the bottom of the cross pendant measured while lying flat on a table. The silver cross pendant itself measures 3 1/2" in height including the baile and it is 2 1/4" in width. The entire necklace weighs 37 grams or 1 1/4 ounces. The handmade silver link chain itself measures 23 1/2" in length from end-to-end when completely opened up. The cross pendant is properly and handsomely signed with Ambrose Roanhorse’s usual hallmark of a capital letter “A” inside an arrowhead with a broken tip or keystone on the back of the cross pendant. The clasp on the handmade silver link chain is also marked “Sterling”. Both the pendant and chain are in excellent original vintage condition.
This cross pendant necklace is an outstanding and beautiful historic piece of the finest Navajo silverwork crafted by an extremely accomplished and renowned historic Navajo silversmith, one of the greatest and most significant Native artists of his, or any other era.
Price $1,350
At left, Ambrose Roanhorse working at his bench, c. 1950. At right, Ambrose Roanhorse teaching a silversmithing class at The Fort Wingate Indian School in New Mexico, 1950.
Right photo source and © Laura Gilpin Photograph, 1979, Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
“It sure feel good when you wear hand-made jewelry. If they use
machine jewelry, by golly, one these days 20 years from now goin’ to have
big sandstorms-10 years, 8 years, maybe 5 years. That’s the way I feel.”
-Ambrose Roanhorse, 1936 Quotation from Billie Hougart, “The Little Book of Marks on Southwestern Silver”, TBR International, 2011
This large pendant is so graceful, harmonious and lovely that the casual observer might never guess how painstakingly difficult and precise the process of making such a piece really was. The pendant is gorgeously
tufa-cast in a finely contoured and faceted symmetrical form which is a nerve-wracking, uncertain and incredibly difficult process to achieve properly. It displays the ideal tufa-cast quality of strength and a certain delicacy simultaneously. Next, the cross was beautifully and carefully embellished with careful polishing of the angled facets of the arms of the cross giving it a really marvelous visual dynamism and tension between the polished brighter, smoother and the unpolished darker, rougher areas of the cast silver. As a perfect finishing touch,
the silver cross is set in its center with a beautiful, round high-domed greenish-blue turquoise stone.