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A Testament to Diversity:
The Millicent Rogers Collection of Southwestern Jewelry
A
testament to Diversity features nearly 1,000 pieces of stunning Native
American jewelry largely collected by Millicent Rogers. Exhibit
funded in part by the Henry Luce Foundation, New Mexico Arts, and the
Board of Trustees, and Private Donations.
JEWELRY
The Collection:
The core of the Millicent Rogers Museum collection of historic jewelry
was collected by Millicent Rogers herself during her years in New
Mexico. The more than 1,200 pieces that comprise the collection
represent jewelry traditions of the Southwest, including Native
American and Hispanic.
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Two-Strand Tab
Necklace, Zuni
Among Millicent Rogers' many delights were her collecting trips to the
Navajo Reservation, to native art and craft fairs, to the Pueblos of
the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. This necklace was purchased on a
trip to the Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial in 1947 by Millicent Rogers
and her good friend, John Joseph, a founding Trustee of the Museum.
All of the Pueblo groups, which include Zuni, Hopi, and Rio Grande
people, have used strings of turquoise and white shell beads, called
heishi, for ornamentation. Traditionally, turquoise has
held a paramount place in Zuni religion and mythology.
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Silversmithing
Silversmithing was introduced to the Navajo people in the early 19th
century by a Mexican silversmith who taught the craft to Atsidi Chon.
By the mid-19th century, Chon had mastered the art and introduced it
Lanyade, a Zuni friend. Prior to this time at the Zuni Pueblo, copper
and brass were the only metals crafted, with incising and filing as
the only design techniques. Chon introduced the technique of stamping
with designs based on Mexican leather craft.
Because of this cross-cultural relationship, it is nearly
impossible to tell the difference between early Navajo and Zuni silver
jewelry. Early pieces include open-centered conchas,
beads, buttons, and bowguards. By 1910 with increased availability of
smaller turquoise stones and improved lapidary tools, the whole design
of Zuni jewelry was oriented toward cluster and ch annel
work, mosaics,
and the display of gems.
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Zuni bracelets, Navajo, c. 1940
Two-strand Tab Necklace, Zuni, Leekya Deyuse, c. 1940, MRM
1958-6-1
Concha belts, 2nd and 3rd phase, Navajo, c. 1900-1930
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Millicent
Rogers 