Wrist Guard

20th century

Silver entered the southwest through trade with Europeans, and was readily added to the accoutrements of the Navajo people. In the 1850s, Atsidi Sani (Old Smith) became the first Navajo man to learn silversmithing. From him, techniques such as soldering and appliqué spread throughout the tribe, and by 1880 many Navajos had mastered the art. In large singular inlays or clusters of stone, turquoise began to appear on silver ornaments as a sign of wealth and status. The more silver and turquoise an individual had, the higher his or her status in the eyes of other Navajos.