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A Greg Lewis Laguna Pueblo copper

“Dragonfly Cross” pendant necklace with silver and glass trade beads, c.1996

This beautiful Pueblo necklace is the result of a fascinating and unique collaboration between us and the late

great Laguna Pueblo silversmith, Greg Lewis (1954-2022). Greg originally learned his trade as apprentice to his very talented Uncle, the late great traditional Acoma/Laguna Pueblo silversmith, Alvin Concho Lewis. Greg worked in a completely traditional manner as if he were living in the late 19th Century himself and to an extent he really was.

He lived and worked in an ancient Pueblo village in an old hand built stone house with tools he largely made himself.

We worked extensively and regularly with Greg Lewis in the late 1990’s commissioning a variety of bracelets, pendants and other pieces in both silver and copper which he especially enjoyed working in. One day, while sitting in his stone house at Paguate Village on Laguna Pueblo we noticed a jar full of small silver beads on a shelf and asked him what he was planning on doing with those. He replied nothing in particular and we said why don’t you make us a Dragonfly cross pendant and we’ll fine some old glass trade beads and make a modern day “Revival” of an old-style historic Laguna Pueblo Dragonfly Cross necklace?

“Dragonfly Cross” Necklaces in the American Southwest

The double-barred or “Dragonfly Cross" has its origins in 13th Century Medieval Spain where it is known as “The Cross of Caravaca”.  It is a symbol of national and religious pride and plays a central role in various festivals and religious celebrations.

The Caravaca Cross is distinguished by its double horizontal bars. The top bar is shorter than the bottom one, resembling the Patriarchal Cross. This unique design carries deep symbolism within Christianity. The double-barred Caravaca Cross came to the New World; Latin America, Mexico and what would eventually become the American Southwest in the hands of various 15th to 17th century Spanish Conquistadores where it was eventually  adopted by various Native Americans in the Southwest, Pueblo and Navajo as it very closely resembled one of their most important sacred symbols for water and moisture, the Dragonfly, with its distinctive double pair of four wings as seen above.

In the late 19th and early 20th Century, historic “Dragonfly Cross” necklaces like the two examples shown below

were regularly made in the New Mexico Pueblos of Laguna, Isleta and Acoma and also by the Navajo.

“Pueblo Indians are exceedingly fond of pretty reliquaries, medals, crosses and rosaries, but this does not arise from Christian devoutness (except in a few cases) but from love of adornment.”

-Franciscan missionary Fray Francisco Antanasio Dominguez, 1776 (Bird (1992:7)

Greg Lewis, at left, and his son Dyaami Lewis, at right, c. 2008.

Photo source and © Martha Struever.

This idea completely appealed to him and this necklace was the happy end result of that meeting. A short time later, Greg and we made another necklace which we will show at a later time. To finish off the collaboration, once the necklace’s various pieces were strung together we needed someone to make a nice traditional Pueblo wrap to finish the necklace and we turned to a friend of ours, a young and then hungry for work up and coming Native American silversmith in Santa Fe who is now a very famous and accomplished jeweler, the talented Elizabeth (Liz) Wallace and she made the beautiful Pueblo-style wrap that finished the necklace, so it’s really a tale of three friends and creative collaborators, two Native American artists and us.

“I enjoy showing people my methods because they reflect the traditional ways

my grandfather taught me. It is very important that these time-honored skills be kept

in the family and passed onto future generations.”

-Greg Lewis

The necklace measures 16 1/2” in length from the top of the wrap to the bottom of the cross pendant measured

while lying flat on a table, the circumference  end-to-end is 28” and the necklace weighs a satisfying, yet extremely comfortable to wear 103 grams or 3 5/8 ounces. The dragonfly cross pendant itself measures 2 1/2" from the top

of the hanging loop to the bottom of the pendant and it is 1 3/8" in width at its widest point.

The copper “Dragonfly” double-barred cross pendant made by Laguna Pueblo silversmith, Greg Lewis is signed on the back with his customary arrowhead hallmark. The necklace is in excellent, like new original condition. It has been worn perhaps two or three times only over the past almost thirty years and has spent most of its time hanging comfortably on the wall.

This is a beautiful contemporary "Revival" of a beautiful traditional form of historic Pueblo jewelry,

the “Dragonfly Cross” necklace made by two distinguished Native artists and one Native art admirer.

SOLD

Photo source and © Nautilus Magazine