Old Navajo Turquoise Sterling Silver Large Belt Buckle Dragonfly Morenci 82grams

Description

Part of a large vintage Navajo collection being sold
This is one of the larger (4" x 3") Native American buckles (typically the buckles are on the smaller side) solid sterling silver with 2 nice turquoise stones from the Morenci Mine
Buckle has a nicely done dragonfly, flowers, raindrops and scroll work by a talented silversmith.  The 2 Morenci stones represent the top portion of the dragonfly wings.
Dragonflies are very important part of Native American culture and had varying significance to different tribes. For the Navajo Dragonfly means:
Dragonflies play a variety of roles in the mythology of different Native American tribes. In the Hopi and Pueblo tribes, the dragonfly was considered a medicine animal, associated with healing and transformation, whose spirit was often called upon by medicine men and women. Killing a dragonfly was considered highly taboo in the Pueblo tribes. To the Navajo tribe, the dragonfly is a symbol of water, and water is life.  Dragonfly images frequently appear in sacred sand
paintings to represent the element of water. In Plains Indian traditions, dragonflies are symbols of protection or even invincibility, and pictures of dragonflies were often painted on war shirts and tepee covers to ward off danger and injury.
The two flowers represent Zinnia's
The Zinnia is one of the sacred Life Medicines of the
Navajo
tribe. To some Pueblo tribes Zinnias
are
a symbol of wisdom, and they were fed to young children in hopes of making them grow up intelligent and articulate.
Buckle is 82.2 Grams and measures 4" x 3"  each stone is approximately 1" tall x .76
will fit belts up to 1.5" wide
About the Morenci mine
Morenci turquoise is another American classic, highly regarded and sought after by collectors. Though the Morenci turquoise mine produces a wide range of colors from blue to green, the most desirable is a deep blue color with a heavy iron pyrite matrix and some spider-webbing.
The Morenci turquoise mine is located in Southeastern Arizona. It is the by-product of a large open-pit copper mining operation and dates back to 1864. William "Lucky" Brown was offered the mining rights in the 1950s and the Brown family has worked the mine since. Though no turquoise is actively being produced at the Morenci mine, small amounts do still come to market each year from the stock that was mined previously
FREE Shipping - ships same day!
Listing buckles, bracelets and necklaces from Morenci, Sleeping Beauty, Carico, Kingman and Royston.