Custom Gallery: Combining Two Cultures

What would a combination of Hawaiian and Native American style look like?  We recently had a client request a very special custom design that would celebrate his unique heritage.   This gentleman was born and raised in Hawaii, and besides being part Hawaiian, he is also part Cherokee.  He sent us a pair of giant wild boar tusks, hoping we could find a way to bring together his Indian and Hawaiian heritage.  The wild boar is very important to the Hawaiian people (he’d even hunted them in his younger days!) and he was hoping to be able to wear the tusks as a pendant.  Besides requesting that the two pieces be joined with a sterling band embellished with turquoise, he asked for an extra loop so he could hang additional pendants in the center occasionally.  We thought that was a great idea!  Our Master Silversmith Henry Yazzie set to work to create a rich and beautiful pendant that would complement the size and importance of these tusks.  He designed a sterling silver band shaped to perfectly fit the triangular shape of the tusks with a turquoise stone featured at the top.  Handmade leaves would extend over the edges to the back, and the details would be swirls and drops of sterling, representing water and wind.  Henry really loved a pale greenish Royston turquoise that he found as the coppery brown spiderweb matrix blended beautifully with the warm brown color and texture of the tusks.  We emailed a sketch and a few turquoise stone choices, the client gave the go-ahead, and Henry set to work.  The result is a most unusual and meaningful pendant for our happy client!

We took a photo with one of Alvin Vandever‘s kachina pendants hanging in the center – doesn’t it look fabulous?  What special memento do you have that could be turned into a pendant?  Let us know!