Here's a magnificent vintage squash blossom necklace with a classic sun face design. Likely crafted in the 1950s/1960s, the artistry and craftsmanship is simply tremendous. Not only was each piece of gemstone and shell hand crafted to fit in each design element, but each piece of jewelry is curved; using an inlay technique on a curved base is truly stunning. Mother of pearl, black onyx, turquoise and coral are used in each sun face. The silver beads are each hand crafted and are strung on silver chain.

An interesting design element is that the turquoise and coral pieces in the "faces" are on opposite sides in the blossoms, creating mirror images on either side of the necklace. On the necklace, the turquoise is always on the outside and the coral is always on the inside.

The necklace is 27  1/4" long from tip to tip. It has 6 sun face "blossoms" on each side, one inside the convex naja, and one above the naja as a crown.

The naja adds a drop of about 2". From the top of the crown to the bottom of the naja is about 3". It is 2  3/8" wide.

The blossoms are each about 1" in diameter.

The silver beads are each about 1/4" in diameter.

It weighs 135 g.

While this necklace is not signed, it would be considered traditional (and exceptional) Zuni artisanship.

This necklace was sourced from a long time collector in Phoenix, Arizona.