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This lovely pendant by a member of the Cheama family from Zuni, N.M. It is beautifully crafted with his use of beautiful deep red coral and natural turquoise materials. This pendant offers the best of an era, when Zuni Jewelry was in high demand.
Kent McManis wrote in, The Spirit of Zuni Magazine 2005. "The Zuni Craftsmen Co-operative Association, or “The Co-op,” as everyone in Zuni calls it, was created to encourage Zuni quality control. Some dishonest traders brought poor grade turquoise into the village in the 1960’s to be used in jewelry, misrepresenting its quality. The Tribal Government responded by passing an ordinance to stop this degradation of Zuni jewelry. To provide a tangible arena for enforcing the ordinance, and with the help of a grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Co-op was established in 1967. Part of its mission was and is to sell genuine materials (stones, shells, coral and silver) to craftspeople."
The pendant measures from 3" long by 1 1/2" wide. There is no hallmark on this piece, which was common during this era, but has the Zuni Craftsmen Co-operative Association sticker on the back of the pendant. The sticker is slightly worn, but can still be read.
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