A beautiful bolo tie handcrafted by well-known Zuni artist Vera Luna. Simple hand tooled silver work with flat and raised set inlay of coral, yellow lip shell, mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell, jet and natural turquoise form a traditional Gahn dancer figure. The large bolo measures 5 1/2" long by 3" wide, with stamped 2" silver bolo tips.
The Zuni are known for their fine silversmithing, which began in the 1870's after learning fundamental techniques from the Navajo. Lanyade was the first Zuni silversmith, who learned the art from Atsidi Chon, a Navajo smith. By 1880, Zuni jewelers already set turquoise in silver. Today jewelry making thrives as an art form in at the Zuni Pueblo. Many Zuni have become master silversmiths and have perfected the skill of stone inlay, channel inlay, needlepoint and petit point. They found that by using small pieces of stone they were able to create intricate designs and unique patterns. Their style of work is very tedious and time consuming.
