This museum-grade Kewa Pueblo necklace is an authentic piece of indigenous material culture, heavily worn and cherished within the community decades before entering the commercial market. Unlike pristine souvenirs made for tourists, the extensive weathering, aged cotton squaw wrap, and historically chipped Cerrillos turquoise tabs provide undeniable proof of an earlier, pre-war lineage. It survives as a pristine historical time capsule, accompanied by its original July 7, 1962 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) pawn paperwork and mid-century East Coast gallery box. Sold strictly as-is for archival display.
The necklace has the intact BIA pawn ticket and Thunderbird Shop box.
Original 1962 Pawn Ticket: Dated July 7, 1962, from a BIA-regulated reservation trading post (License I-XXTN, Formally under 25 CFR Part 140). It records the pawner's name as "Anhid Wolf" with a historical mid-century pawn value of $65.00.
The vintage presentation box from The Thunderbird Shop, a historic mid-century specialty gallery on Rehoboth Avenue in Delaware that sourced "dead pawn" directly from Southwestern trading posts.
Origin: Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo), New Mexico
Circa: Pre-1962
Materials: Natural Cerrillos turquoise, clam shell heishi, coral accents and traditional cotton thread.
Condition: Fair to Good (Vintage / Artifact status).
Wear Details: Shows authentic signs of age, wear, and historical handling.
Turquoise Tabs: Minor structural damage; select Cerrillos turquoise tabs are naturally chipped or broken from historical use.
Cord Integrity: Original cotton thread squaw wrap is heavily aged and delicate.
Restoration Note: Unrestored and completely original; left in its found state to preserve historical integrity and collector value.
The necklace is 30" long. The jacla are an addtional 6 1/2".
Weight is 155 grams.
The last photo clearly shows two broken turquoise tabs.
