Featured SAID I'D DIG & I DID!!! NECKLACE & RING....NA or TOURIST??

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Aquitaine, Apr 29, 2017.

  1. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    I was always told these were "Rainmakers", but not sure as to that!! The large piece is a pin that is adjusted to be worn also on the necklace. It is 6" from the white "feather" to the farthest foot. The ring is 2-1/4 in length.....if my mind serves me correctly Mom & Dad got them for me on one of their trips west, but my mind is sometimes up for debate nowadays!!!!!!!!!!! I still love them but no longer wear them, as you can see they haven't been polished in quite a while!! There are marks on the back of both ring and necklace if anyone can make head nor tails out of them!!! I would LOVE to know more about them actually!!!! As ALWAYS I SO MUCH appreciate ANY and ALL input...GOOD or BAD!!!!! Sue

    zRingAndNcklceTog.jpg zNecklaceClose.jpg zBackOfNcklce.jpg zSignaOnNecklace.jpg zNcklceClosure.jpg zRingOnly.jpg zRingSigna.jpg
     
  2. Ladybranch

    Ladybranch Well-Known Member

  3. Taupou

    Taupou Well-Known Member

    I'm not going to be of much help, I'm afraid. But I can tell you that the images are usually referred to as the "Rainbow Man," and they are Zuni inlay.

    The silver bead necklace, however, is Navajo style. The necklace, therefore, may be a marriage. The back of the Rainbow Man, and the way it's attached, seem a little odd. I doubt if they started out meant to be together, but maybe you already knew that.

    No help at all on the marks, which also may not be original to the pieces. They look rather too random to be signatures or hallmarks.
     
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  4. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    only to add that they both look very well made....otherwise i concur with all above..
     
  5. Ladybranch

    Ladybranch Well-Known Member

    Would the beads on the Navajo syle necklace be called: cone end beads with shepherd's hook clasp, elongated beads called melon beads (aka melon seed beads), and the rest Navajo stamped beads?

    --- Susan
     
  6. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    The cones and large round beads appear to be commercial made,photo not clear enough for small and "melon" beads.
     
  7. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    @Taupou, I believe, the Rainbow Man was meant to be a pin first and foremost! Mom had so many necklaces at the time in the 50's (I think 50's) she asked if I'd rather it be a necklace which I must have said yes to! The gray pieces are just like a hard rubber on either side to keep it balanced on the necklace, which I also had shortened by 3"....kept the 6 or 8 beads as well.....so Mom may very well have bought the necklace separately........THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!

    And will put up a better image of clasp and cones & large round beads......
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2017
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  8. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

  9. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    These are close ups and I hope clearer....and there was dried glue on one end of the pin that i cleaned off and took off of the necklace.....hope you can understand what I'm trying to show!!

    zCleanPin.jpg
    zBeadsCloseup.jpg
    zConesAndBeads.jpg
    zConesBeadsHook.jpg
     
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  10. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    The beads are handmade and not bench made the the earlier photos looked like.
     
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  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Agree.
    Aquitaine, I love them. I have two Zuni Rainbow Men, so I put one, a brooch, up for sale now. The other, a brooch/pendant, definitely stays here.
    Just wonder what would have been on the necklace originally. Is there anything (Navajo?) in your collection that comes to mind?

    The Rainbow Man can refer to the dancers, but also to the rainbow itself. Rainbows are often depicted as rainbow spirits and look human in Native American symbolism. That is why the Zuni Rainbow Man is not only colourful, but often curved as well:
    DSC06981 (640x452).jpg
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2017
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  12. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    it could have held a naja, or likely nothing at all.....

    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
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  13. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    AJ (hoping you don't mind the abbreviation!), other than 2 small silver Kachinas (maybe 4".....a third one took it's final trip with Mom), and a large safety pin (tourist I believe), this is all I have. Mom was the real collector, not me. I think they got me this when I was somewhere in my teens.....if I was ever that young!!! Now, I REALLY like those Kachinas even tho not as decorative, as I remember....will have to 'dig them up'!!!!
     
  14. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!


    NICE, VERY nice.....and I honestly don't remember.....Mom took care of that!!!!
     
  15. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    Thanks Holly!!!
     
  16. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I was thinking of the tube thing in the middle. It looks like the necklace was made like that and it is not for a naja:
    [​IMG]
     
  17. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    I was wondering about that too...... "naja"??????
     
  18. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Naja is that circular decoration on the necklace Komo posted. It is originally a Moorish (even earlier) horse ornament, came to the Southwest with the Spanish, and is often used as a centrepiece for squash blossom necklaces:
    DSC07798 (640x590).jpg
    From Navajo Silver by Arthur Woodward.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2017
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