Cluster Work: Constellations of Turquoise
Cluster work turns stones into the whole show: dozens of matched cabochons — rounds, teardrops, needles — arranged in radiating rows around a center, each in its own hand-made bezel. Where inlay sets stone INTO silver, cluster work sets silver to serve the stones.
A Zuni Signature — with Navajo Hands Too
The books document cluster work as a hallmark of Zuni lapidary artistry[1], practiced by both Zuni and Navajo smiths[2]. Its most celebrated documented practitioners include Alice and Duane Quam, whose cluster work appears repeatedly in the record[3] — alongside makers like Phyllis Coonsis, Don C. and Velma Dewa, and Virginia Hooee[4], many with pages in our directory.
Reading a Cluster Piece
Collectors look for matched stones (a good cluster uses stones cut from related material, evenly colored), consistent bezels, and symmetry that holds up close. Petit point and needlepoint — the finer cousins where each stone is a sliver — get their own page soon.
A note on accuracy. We strive for accuracy, and this page is continuously updated with new information from the artists, their families, and the community. Corrections welcome.
From the Library: Schiffer, Turquoise Jewelry (2008)
2008 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2008, not today.
Schiffer (2008, p. 35) illustrated a child's Zuni cluster bracelet dated circa 1945, and on the same page a turquoise cluster bracelet she described as probably made by a non-Indian, circa 1970s. [5]
Schiffer (2008, p. 36) illustrated Zuni cluster bracelets of circa 1950 set with Morenci, Lone Mountain and Smokey Valley (Nevada) turquoise. [5]
From the Library: Bedinger, Indian Silver (1973)
1973 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1973, not today.
Bedinger (1973) described the turn that produced the style:
“When the role of silver was subordinated to turquoise, a complete change in emphasis came about, and Zuni-style jewelry came into being, so called because it originated in the pueblo of Zuni, New Mexico.”
— Bedinger (1973), p. 95 [6]
Bedinger (1973) tied the spread to supply:
“By 1920, mines in Colorado and Nevada were sending their product to the reservation; turquoise dropped in price.”
— Bedinger (1973), p. 95 [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 96), a Navajo smith who could not afford large ready-cut stones could buy chips and shape and polish them himself, setting them in the Zuni way in rows around a bracelet or ring or in massed clusters around a larger center stone; Mera cautioned that Navajo smiths made only a limited amount of this style, and that their cluster bracelets kept the characteristic Navajo weight. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 86), a cluster ring typically set a large stone among smaller ones, in a circle or in a butterfly arrangement of an oval center with smaller ovals radiating to either side; she found these rings Zuni in feel but noted that Navajo smiths made them fairly early. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 117), during the commercial era the Zuni custom of putting turquoise ahead of silver was gaining favor, and Navajo smiths began using multiple stones, often in clusters covering an entire bracelet or ring, which changed the whole idea of Navajo silver design. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 141), the first Zuni settings used scarce hard turquoise, shaped by hand against sandstone and polished with soapstone and buckskin, so early Zuni smiths, like the Navajo, used only a few large stones. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 142), from 1900 more and softer turquoise reached the market, and better tools changed Zuni work: emery wheels replaced the sandstone slab, lapidary sticks tipped with sealing wax held the stone, drawplates made fine wire, rollers made thin bezel strip, and the gasoline blowtorch replaced the blowpipe. Zuni jewelry came to carry many small stones instead of a few large ones. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 144), citing Mera, the turquoise-encrusted style came into full flower in the early 1930s, with no surely dated examples much before then. She defined the form simply: a cluster is a row of stones around a central, usually larger, stone. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 145), clusters could be circular, oval or butterfly-shaped, of small, large or mixed stones, with twisted wire and silver drops added. Stones sat on silver plates cut just large enough to follow the scalloped outline, and on cluster bracelets round wire held the plates, spreading apart at the center by 2 inches or more and drawing in to nearly meet at the ends. [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 193), by 1950 the Zunis were making more jewelry than the Navajos who had taught them, and a 1958 estimate put jewelry-making in 80 percent of Zuni families, about one thousand people, many of them women. [6]
Bedinger (1973) named the form at the center of that output:
“The cluster of small stones is the most characteristic Zuni motif.”
— Bedinger (1973), p. 193 [6]
According to Bedinger (1973, p. 194), the custom of setting a thin strip of plain silver between rows of stones began in 1957, giving the eye a quiet area of metal between the massed stones; a row piece with these strips is therefore likely to date from 1957 or later. [6]
From the Library: Frank, Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest (1990)
1990 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1990, not today.
According to Frank (1990, p. 16), stones were not widely used in Southwest Indian jewelry until the turn of the century; most turquoise cutting was then done by the Zuni and some Rio Grande Pueblos, who strung the stones into necklaces or set them with pitch on wood or shell, mosaic fashion. [7]
Holbrook, writing in Frank (1990), offered a rule of thumb:
“In fact, Indian jewelry made well into the 1940s can usually be identified as Navajo if the silver is emphasized, and Zuni if the emphasis is on lapidary work.”
— Frank (1990), p. 16 [7]
Frank (1990, p. 143) described a Zuni necklace of the 1930s (Fig. 175) whose pendants set small, finely cut deep blue stones around a large central one, and called them miniature versions of Zuni cluster rings and bracelets. [7]
Frank (1990, Fig. 183, p. 150) offered a dating cue for cluster work:
“Circular stones slightly predate teardrop-shaped ones.”
— Frank (1990), p. 150 [7]
According to Frank (1990, p. 150, Fig. 183), a large sunburst cluster bracelet of three wire bands holding a scalloped plate, set with a central oval turquoise inside three circles of round stones, was most probably Zuni and dated from around 1930. [7]
According to Frank (1990, p. 164, Fig. 202), a "butterfly" ring and an earring with airy stone-set dangles, both early 1900s, could almost be Zuni, but each was a simpler, cruder version of the Zuni cluster style. [7]
According to Frank (1990, p. 201, Fig. 253), "butterfly" rings took the name because their shape resembles a butterfly and, more abstractly, the middle stones standing for the body differ in color from the outer stones, as in two rings with green centers and blue outer stones. [7]
From the Library: Turnbaugh, Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest (2007)
2007 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2007, not today.
William and Sarah Turnbaugh (Turnbaugh 2007) dated the technique:
“Clusterwork, which groups together many individual stones in a setting of individual silver bezels, first appeared in about 1920.”
— Turnbaugh (2007), p. 53 [8]
According to Turnbaugh (2007, p. 53), the emphasis on small turquoise stonework that came to be most associated with Zuni jewelry began to emerge in pieces made in the 1920s, and its popularity in commercial markets helped foster it. [8]
Turnbaugh (2007, p. 53, caption) illustrated a Zuni-style cluster pin with openwork and embossed silver lunettes made in the manner of Roman Ramoncito, and noted that a very similar pin by him won a prize at the 1958 Gallup Ceremonial. [8]
As of the late 1980s, the Turnbaughs (2007, p. 72) wrote:
“Similarly, Navajo artisans may fashion cluster or inlay jewelry and silver overlay, techniques that formerly were associated only with the Zuni and Hopi, respectively.”
— Turnbaugh (2007), p. 72 [8]
As of the late 1980s, Turnbaugh (2007, p. 78, caption) described how Zuni cluster pieces came together:
“Zuni smiths typically create the silver frame for a piece of jewelry and then shape the turquoise stones to set into the bezels. On occasion, the Zuni will buy the completed silver frames from Navajo smiths and then will set their turquoise stones into them.”
— Turnbaugh (2007), p. 78 [8]
Turnbaugh (2007, p. 78, caption) called Zuni-style "petitpoint" cluster lapidary popular among both Zuni and Navajo peoples as of the late 1980s, illustrating an especially large bracelet whose silverwork was made by a Navajo artisan. [8]
Turnbaugh (2007, p. 84, caption) offered a way to tell the two apart: although Navajo cluster work resembles its Zuni counterpart, free-form turquoise sets are more typical of Navajo than of Zuni small-stone work. [8]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry (1997)
1997 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1997, not today.
Bassman (1997, p. 26) pictured cluster work set with mixed stones: an upper bracelet by Eloise Kee, and bracelets and a nine-concha belt by George Apachito, the stones being coral, white shell, sugilite, lapis lazuli, spiny oyster shell, black onyx, rose quartz, cat's-eye and amethyst. [9]
Bassman (1997, p. 35) pictured Kingman turquoise cluster work by four makers: a watchband by Wilford Nez, a ten-concha belt by Sam Nez, a bracelet made in 1978 by Mary Ross and a belt buckle by Eddie Spencer. [9]
From the Library: Manley, Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts & Crafts (1979)
1979 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1979, not today.
According to Manley (1979, p. 47), the book pictured a cluster belt by Charles M. Yazzie. [10]
From the Library: Jacka, Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (1995)
1995 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1995, not today.
Lois Essary Jacka, writing in 1995, on how cluster work entered Navajo silver:
“The use of turquoise had increased through the years, and a few jewelers began adopting the Zuni style of setting multiple stones close together in silver. A larger piece of turquoise was surrounded by small stones, thus forming a cluster.”
— Jacka (1995), p. 28 [11]
From the Library: Adair, The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths (1944)
1944 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1944, not today.
Adair (1944) contrasted the first Zuni set work of the 1890s with that of his own day:
“At that time from one to half a dozen stones were set in one piece of silver. Today a popular type of Zuñi bracelet has as many as one-hundred and fifty sets”
— Adair (1944), p. 131 [12]
According to Adair (1944, p. 132), older Zuni residents said turquoise was scarce until mines run by white operators in the surrounding states began shipping stones to the traders about the turn of the century. [12]
Adair (1944) was blunt about what the traders' rollers did:
“Therefore, when the traders brought rollers into the village, the production of the multi-set silver became just that much easier, and in many cases, the silver became just that much more tawdry.”
— Adair (1944), p. 132 [12]
According to Adair (1944, p. 134), by 1910 Zuni bow-guards that had been flat plates of silver were encrusted with stones, and conchas that had relied on die-work carried a center stone and often a rim of stones around the edge. [12]
Describing Zuni women's earrings of about 1910, Adair (1944) wrote:
“Earrings, however, were worn as continually as the manta or the moccasin; rarely was a woman without these large silver ornaments, set with many turquoise and bordered by delicately twisted wire.”
— Adair (1944), p. 133 [12]
According to Adair (1944, p. 141), Horace Aiuli ground each small stone on a hand-turned carborundum wheel, about seven minutes a stone, then polished the set on an emery-covered wooden wheel; cutting the sets for one small bracelet took him over an hour. [12]
Watching Horace Aiuli set a row bracelet in the late 1930s, Adair (1944) recorded a matching rule:
“The darkest stones are placed in the middle of the bracelet, for they are the ones which will retain their blue color the longest.”
— Adair (1944), p. 141 [12]
Adair (1944) noted a detail inside the setting:
“Before they are set in the housings, a small cardboard cushion must be placed inside of each bezel.”
— Adair (1944), p. 141 [12]
Describing the jewelry Leekya's wife wore about 1940, Adair (1944) recorded an early cluster bracelet:
“One of these is a cluster bracelet with elaborate bent-wire work on the side; another one has three sets, each one bordered by countless raindrops.”
— Adair (1944), p. 156 [12]
Adair (1944) wrote that Zuni smiths of about 1940 did little heavy hammered work because
“they do not like to hammer out large pieces of silver, but prefer to do the more delicate set and bent-wire work.”
— Adair (1944), p. 152 [12]
Adair (1944) compared that ornament to Zuni pottery:
“The myriad raindrops and the delicate braid, interspersed with tiny bits of turquoise and wire, have a total decorative effect not unlike the designs on the pottery.”
— Adair (1944), p. 157 [12]
From the Library: Lund, Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy (1976)
1976 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1976, not today.
Writing in 1976, Lund (1976) placed the start of cluster work with Navajo smiths:
“The Cluster style was first used by the Navajo and later adopted by the Zuni.”
— Lund (1976), p. 61 [13]
Lund (1976, p. 61) called cluster work the overlap point beyond which Navajo smiths did not go, and the springboard for later Zuni work in more and smaller stones; she wrote that people assumed a Zuni origin because it was the first clearly defined multi-stone form. [13]
From the Library: Baxter, Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry (2000)
2000 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2000, not today.
According to Baxter (2000, p. 33), cracked or damaged stones in cluster pieces were often replaced over the years, sometimes with a stone of a slightly different color, so older repaired cluster pieces could show non-matching stones; some makers also mixed slightly varying hues on purpose. [14]
As of 2000, Baxter wrote of the Quams:
“Alice Quam (b. 1929) and Duane Quam (b. 1919) of Zuni, New Mexico, are well known for the excellent cluster work they have been making since the late 1940s.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 33 [14]
Field Notes by Mateo James
The Turnbaughs, quoted on this page, date the first clusterwork to about 1920. Adair describes Zuni earrings set with many turquoise as everyday wear by about 1910, and conchas ringed with stones by the same year. Multi-stone earrings and clusterwork as a named style may not be quite the same thing, but the dates differ by a decade, so I show both.
Our page calls cluster work a hallmark of Zuni lapidary artistry. Lund, writing in 1976, said the style was first used by Navajo smiths and later adopted by Zuni jewelers, and called the assumption of a Zuni origin logical but untrue. I note the disagreement and show both accounts rather than choose one.
Sources
- Lund, Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy, pp. 61, 70
- Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry, p. 83
- Encyclopedia, pp. 83, 196
- Hougart, Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks (5th ed.), pp. 150–152, 164, 204
- Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry. Revised 4th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2008. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2008.
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1973.
- Frank, Larry, with the assistance of Millard J. Holbrook II. Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1990. First published 1978 by New York Graphic Society. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1990.
- Turnbaugh, William A., and Sarah Peabody Turnbaugh. Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest. Foreword by Barry M. Goldwater. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2007 (copyright 1996 and 2007; first published 1988). ISBN 0-7643-2577-9. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1997.
- Manley, Ray. Ray Manley's Collecting Southwestern Indian Arts & Crafts. Text by Clara Lee Tanner and others; photography by Naurice Koonce, Ray Manley and Alan Manley. Tucson: Ray Manley Photography, 1979. Includes Clara Lee Tanner, "Southwest Indian Silverwork," pp. 39–41. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1979.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. The Civilization of the American Indian Series. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1944. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1944.
- Lund, Marsha Mayer. Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 1976. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1976.
- Baxter, Paula A., with Allison Bird-Romero. Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry: A Guide to History, People, and Terms. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 2000. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2000.
