US federal law controls “the marketing of Indian art and craft products within the United States.” The link has good info.
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Is Taxco even native Mexican made - not sure how to state that - but I mean like Native made, or is it simply Mexican made? I’m not putting what I mean into words very well…
When I joined this site my understanding was that it mostly focused on jewelry made by Native Americans in the US, specifically in the southwest; that’s WHY I joined it. Obviously other Native American made items get discussed, I’ve even done this, but they aren’t the focus. Although we have had a couple great threads on Pacific Northwest jewelry, Navajo rugs, and I posted some Canadian native art within certain threads.
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Mexico has extensive records of artists again it all depends on who made it I would say I have many taxco pieces I have not shared because they are more modernist and what not…
Thanks, I don’t know anything about it. So I enjoy those pieces posted on here, because then I can learn. Awhile ago I posted some old earrings of my mom’s I had inherited, because I wasn’t sure if they were Native American made or Mexican. I had posted them in the identifying category (I think) since I didn’t know.
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Touchy subject. I am with you, LL.
The boundaries are artificial - legal and codified, yes- however particularly southwest art forms are very similar to indigenous art, to include jewelry, on the “other side” of the border. Basically the same folks. Tribes are an artificial construct to sort out the interests and politics of the various colonizers.
I collect Mimbres and other southwest US indigenous pottery, on this side of the border,and Mata Ortiz and Casa Grande pottery, which is on the other side. These are basically historically the same people living in slightly differing conditions, using different earth clays. Borders and laws, yes. It’s a thing. However, people and art on either side of the legal, artificial border not so different.
Santa Clara Pueblo and Mata Ortiz pottery. Different styles but many similarities.
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Hey @Lessonslearned, you might enjoy this past thread…
Some silver jewellery by West Coast First Nations (Canada) artists
But I do think it’s important to remember that the focus of this site is southwestern Native American jewelry. Doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun learning about other things!
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I agree @Ziacat focus on southwest. Defining native that’s a Pandoras box even within some of the native community it’s a sticky wicket we have created for ourselves haha just a little while ago this was brought up in the smoke house at a memorial and naming where all the tribe members from the houses in Canada came down. very much the same people when it comes to what’s important spiritually and culturally.
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I imagine that was an interesting discussion you had! I really wish I had learned from my family members (who are now deceased) more about my ancestry. My background appears to be mostly German with some English, and my husband’s family’s roots are mostly French. My last name is totally French, and because of that when we visited Quebec everybody kept speaking to me in French, and I was like, sorry I don’t speak that language 
I do know that people on my father’s side came here to the US to escape religious persecution eons ago.
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Those are gorgeous! I love pottery. Which one is Santa Clara? The top one looks like some Acoma (or Santo Domingo?) pottery I have seen…
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I am guessing most everybody here knows this:
“Navajo (Diné) artists began working silver in the 1850s after learning the art from Mexican smiths . The Zuni, who admired the silver jewelry made by Navajo smiths, traded livestock for instruction in working silver. By 1890, Zuni smiths had instructed the Hopi as well.”
Wikipedia entry on Native American jewelry
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Acom[quote=“Ziacat, post:18, topic:12025, full:true”]
Those are gorgeous! I love pottery. Which one is Santa Clara? The top one looks like some Acoma (or Santo Domingo?) pottery I have seen…
[/quote]
Acoma, yes. And Mata Ortiz.
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@Lin true and true and the naja and pomegranates that we so love are adopted from the conquistadors and how many times did that border change before the 1850s then after as late as the 1970s I believe
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Yes, indeed, LL. It’s good to know these things.
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The Santa Clara piece I was thinking about when I posted the Acoma above
In another topic I posted a photo of the Mexican quetazacotal figure ring, a mythical creature related to the common Pueblo diety, Awanyu, the water serpent. Similarities of symbolism and style abound across the broad expanse of the Americas.
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I will put Mexican pieces in correct category going forward
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I also have a piece of Santa Clara pottery with the water serpent. I inherited a large beautiful olla from my mom that she bought in '69, and she had no idea who made it. For years I thought it was Acoma, until we finally learned that it’s Zia.
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound grumpy about it! Don’t worry if you put them in other areas; I’m not necessarily right on that. It was just a suggestion in case there’s a bunch. There’s been a lot of Mexican pieces of jewelry interspersed all throughout these categories. And it is confusing. Most of the stuff in the non-native category isn’t Native made (from anywhere in North America) at all.
And I do appreciate the history both you and @Lessonslearned posted. Even though a lot of us on here know it, there are ALWAYS new people who don’t. And I totally agree it’s good to learn the history of where this beautiful art came from.
Edit: I think part of my confusion is it’s never clear to me when the Mexican jewelry is native made in Mexico. I just don’t know much about it.
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Might be fun, and educational, to create a place on here for people to discuss other, more general topics like the history of silver jewelry in the Americas. (Is there one and I missed it?)
Also, might discuss what makes pieces valuable. Is value these days predicated on the market demand and the style du jour, or age, beauty, complexity, the artist who made the piece? A Navajo cuff by Charlie or Tommy Singer will fetch more than an equally beautiful chip inlay cuff that is unsigned. There is a dramatic and puzzling differences in dealer valuation and pricing online, in all forums, auction houses, facebook, etsy, etc. Maybe could discuss how value is determined? Or how we would like to see value determined?
Since forum is called Turquoise People, maybe discussions on the mines, colors, types of turquoise. How turquoise is formed geologically? Is white buffalo turquoise? Chinese turquoise, is it good? Is it valuable? What makes turquoise valuable?
Any interest in a broader, general discussion area, not necessarily involving specific pieces and prices?
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