Hi there! I was recently browsing in a charity shop and this necklace caught my eye because it was so unusual. I know nothing about Native American jewellery or art, so showed it off as just a cool find from the piles of cheap necklaces you often see on hooks in such shops (as you do) to a friend who excitedly told me it’s a Navajo Squash Blossom necklace - not something you expect to find in London and to look for a maker’s mark. Have also tried a magnet on it as suggested and it doesn’t stick at all to the necklace.
After much squinting I found a tiny one behind the naja (now I know what it’s called) and have tried to gently remove as much of the patina as I can without damaging it. It looks like an A or a triangular P or it could even be a symbol.
Also on the front of the naja is what I think is a corn/maize detail, which as I haven’t found a similar one on my online rummaging might be helpful in IDing it. It has three rows of beads which seems to be unusual too as opposed to the single or double ones.
Have gone blind looking up as many of the various silversmith marks and stamps I can find online and can’t seem to come up with a match, so having learned about here, I thought I would ask and see if anyone knew.
Will attach some pictures and hopefully be able to create a story for my delightful and different chance discovery!
Agree about costume. I believe what the others are talking about is the fact that the idea of the squash is there, but the individual parts are slightly off, especially the naja, front and back.
As far as I can tell the grooves on the reverse of the naja and hollow circles atop the squash blossoms are from hammering and the pitted surface from sandcasting.
The necklace parts are all tightly strung together by a twisted wire and no part of the necklace is magnetic. Each of the blossoms is ever so slightly different as are the two pointing ends of the naja - the right hand tip slightly thicker and more rounded than the left. The beads feel smooth to the touch, but all have different surface details when examined closely.
The hallmark symbol on the reverse of the naja (either an A, P or triangle symbol) is raised just slightly above the patina’d grooves/striations.
You’d really want to test for silver. Any idea of the weight in grams?
In any case, the fabrication doesn’t look like authentic Navajo handwork. The blossoms and the naja wouldn’t be made in half section (i.e., stamped out as if in relief, without dimensionality in the back). Beads aren’t right. What you speculate as sandcasting and hammering aren’t so; we’re looking at mold and machinery.
As someone who only learned of the existence of squash blossom necklaces a week ago, with no knowledge of metallurgy, I’m always happy to defer to experts
The back of the naja definitely looks costume to me. And I seem to find that a lobster clasp with extra chain is an Asian thing I see a lot on costume jewelry.
and to look for a maker’s mark. Have also tried a magnet on it as suggested and it doesn’t stick at all to the necklace.
