Double Carinated Silver Navajo Bracelet w Cerrillos Turquoise c.1920, Size 7

Double carinated cuff with each side bent around the oval Cerrillos turquoise cabochon in the center. Two silver starburst buttons flank each side of the stone. The bracelet is hand stamped with arrows and whirling logs, as it was made in the first part of the 20th century when whirling logs, (aka swastika), were considered a symbol of friendship. Size 7

Until the late 1800s, when J. Lorenzo Hubbell and J.B. Moore opened their trading posts in Arizona and New Mexico, Navajos portrayed the swastika solely in their religious ceremonies in the form of sand paintings. But by 1896, with prodding by Hubbell and Moore, the symbol proliferated on Navajo rugs.  

In 1940, in response to Hitler's regime, the Navajo, Papago, Apache and Hopi people signed a whirling log proclamation. It read, "Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika . . . on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sand paintings and clothing."

length end to end: 6”
gap between ends: 1”
width: 1 1/8”