Diné Squash Blossom Necklace by Victor Moses Begay

This lovely squash blossom necklace was made by Diné artist Victor Moses Begay who lived on the Navajo Reservation at Lukachukai, Arizona. He was actively making excellent jewelry between the 1950s through the 1980s. His initials VMB are stamped on the back of the naja. Unique to his style is the placement of a small turquoise gemstone on the tip of the squash blossom. Every turquoise gemstone in this necklace is identical in color. They are beautifully matched.

Victor Moses Begay's jewelry was exhibited in the 1985 Lost and Found Traditions, a traveling exhibit of the American Federation of Arts. His jewelry in included in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, and in the American Can Company Foundation in New York.

Naja: Early Navajo-made jewelry contained elements that were borrowed directly from Spanish colonial and Mexican ornament. One of these items is the naja, a crescent form of Moorish origin. The Spanish conquerors in the Southwest outfitted their horses in elaborate silver ornaments—one of which was the naja that hung directly on the forehead of the horse as a part of the bridle.  Today, it is still seen in both Pueblo and Navajo modern jewelry.  See a close-up of the naja below.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Diné Squash Blossom Necklace by Victor Moses Begay is from the collection of a client from Colorado

Recommended Reading: The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths by John Adair. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1944

TAGS: Diné of the Navajo Nation, Southwest Indian Jewelry, Victor Moses Begay