Hopi Indian jewelry is praised for its authenticity and beauty. The Hopi tribe is also known as the “peaceful ones” and they have made the American Southwest their home for many hundreds of years. They have made their mark with high quality, beautiful art that illustrates their rich livelihood and history. Hopi jewelry is one of the most cherished art forms. The jewelry is very much embraced at the southwest silver gallery. The jewelry has been adorned by jewelry enthusiasts and artists who admire its intricate style. There are a lot of reasons why the Hopi jewelry has reached beyond the southwest borders and it is admired as one of the most distinctive and beautiful collections of art of the southwest.

Spirituality and beauty

The Hopi are spiritual and creative people and they use symbols such as feathers, bear paws and eagles to provide encouragement and spiritual protection. A Hopi legend states that turquoise is excreted by the lizard who travels between below and above. Hopi miners carry turquoise because they believe it gives them strength. The Hopi people also believe that turquoise holds back floods and prevents them from harming them. A lot of these gemstones and symbols that are incorporated into the Hopi jewelry tell fascinating stories about their spiritual identity and culture.

Symbols

Hopi jewelry is engraved with a lot of symbols and all the symbols have specific meanings. The bear is used to symbolize leadership and physical strength, the bear paw is used to symbolize inner strength, feathers symbolize creativity and prayers, the eagle is a carrier of prayers, the buffalo symbolizes peace, the arrowhead symbolizes adventure while the dream catcher is used to catch bad dreams. There are many other symbols used on Native American Indian jewelry to symbolize other things.

Gemstones

Gemstones are also used by Native Americans to symbolize different things. For example, coral is known to be protective and soothing. Ruby is believed to speed up the healing process. Lapis is regarded as a stone that brings fortitude and wisdom. It also helps psychic ability. Onyx is considered to be a calming stone and it gets rid of negative energy. Opal is believed to release self-consciousness. Pearls are considered to be stabilizing and the stone is also believed to contain integrity and purity.

Turquoise

The majority of turquoise jewelry created by the Hopi tribe was most likely in the New Mexico and Arizona region. In this area, turquoise comes from mines such as Sleeping Beauty, Kingman, Blue Ridge, Blue Gem, Bisbee, Dry Creek, Royston and more. Since turquoise is valued in the Native American culture, the members of the Hopi tribe use a variety of patterns to give each piece of jewelry a distinctive style.

Silver overlay

The Hopi Indian jewelry is also composed of silver overlay. A lot of Hopi men became silversmiths and began creating bracelets and necklaces that later started to resemble their work. However, that changed in the early 1900s when artists from the Hopi tribe were introduced to silver overlay by the Spanish. The style involves soldering silver with a design cutout and then tarnishing it to create a beautiful piece of art. Read more: https://www.indiantraders.com