Today, we’re going to introduce you to a pair of artisans whose work we’ve carried for many, many years: Clarita and Vera Tenorio. They’re a mother/daughter team from Kewa Pueblo, and their specialty is traditional beadwork jewelry in all its forms. We’ve introduced you to Kewa Pueblo before, although most folks still know it by its colonial name, Santo Domingo Pueblo. a few years ago, the community there voted to restore its own name for itself, which is Kewa.
We’ve also covered several of their pieces here already, although the focus then was normally on other aspects of the work — the style, the materials used, the symbolism and/or history involved. Among pieces by the Tenorios are the three horse fetish necklaces, covered together here only last week, and the old traditional coral and heishi necklace highlighted a few months ago (and now sold). Today, we have three special pieces by them to show you, rendered in two beautiful gem media: denim lapis lazuli and apple coral.
Lapis lazuli (or lapis, for short) is, generally speaking, an expensive stone. It comes in a variety of grades, and therefore a range of quality, but the best gem-grade lapis is relatively scarce. The largest single source today is in northern Afghanistan, where it is mined commercially. It’s also found in some areas of Pakistan, Iran (i.e., Persia, whence comes its name), Eastern Europe, and South America (specifically, Chile), with small amounts extracted from other parts of Europe and some areas of Canada and the United States.
Lapis has been used decoratively since time immemorial (or at least since the Neolithic Era, according to scientists). It’s been found in ancient art and artifacts, everything from free-standing carvings and fetishes to inlaid accents on pottery and handles on weapons to jeweled accents on statuary and sarcophagi and the tombs of the Pharaohs (yes, even that of King Tut). Ground into powder, it was reportedly used as eyeshadow by Cleopatra; more recently (i.e., in the Late Middle Ages), it was mixed into paint known as ultramarine, regarded as the finest and most valuable blue pigment in the art world of the day.
So what is lapis lazuli? It’s a compound mineral with a core material known as lazurite, named for the place in ancient Persia where it was mined, and the root of Romance-language variants of the word azure (for “blue”). [The word “lapis” reportedly was simply the ancient Latin word for stone, but oddly, it’s the part of the name that stuck.] It also typically contains one or more of the minerals calcite, pyrite, or sodalite, which provide the gray-white, yellowish, and blue tendrils of matrix, respectively, that are often found in the stone. It often contains other trace minerals, as well, including the same mica that is found in Taos Pueblo’s own clay.
As noted above, it comes in a range of grades, and not all of it is suitable for gemological purposes. The best, in intense shades of deep cobalt and indigo, can be extraordinarily expensive. Less brilliant (and often less clear) hues, while still not cheap, are significantly lower in price, making them more cost-effective for the kind of production quantities needed to make beads and mass-market cabochons. there is also a lesser-quality gem-grade version of the stone known as denim lapis, so named because of the paler, nearly denim-blue color of the stone. It has a higher proportion of calcite in the stone compared to the other minerals, making the blues lighter in hue but also providing more (and more visible) inclusions in shades of gray and white. It’s still a beautiful stone, albeit usually a bit lighter in color, and it’s often more cost-effective for beadworkers and other artisans to acquire and use regularly.
The beads used in these two necklaces are an unusually deep blue for denim lapis: Although calcite is clearly present, and their matrices include a subtle marbling in blue-gray tones, along with the telltale metallic flashes pyrite (and perhaps mica, as well), the background color is nearly indigo. Both of these are almost identical: clearly the same stone source, the same bead shape, both roughly sixteen inches in length, each with a trio of sterling silver spacer beads at the back of either end of the strand. The beads themselves are classically-shaped ovals, with very little convexity on either side. This means that they can be worn with the beads arranged to lie flat (the strand that holds them is knotted between each bead, in the old way, for extra security) for a formal, dressy appearance, or some can be turned onto their sides in alternating or random patterns to provide a chunkier, hipper, more casual look.
From the description of the strand pictured above, from its entry in the Other Artists: Miscellaneous Jewelry Gallery:
Oval beads of denim lapis lazuli, lightly shaped but not quite flat, form this hand-crafted necklace by Clarita and Vera Tenorio of Kewa Pueblo. The firmly-string beads can be laid flat against the skin for a classic look, or turned randomly for a bolder, more casual effect. Each bead is aswirl in shades of deep blue, with metallic hints of gold- and silver-colored matrix. Three small sterling silver round beads finish off each end of the strand, which hangs a little past choker-length at 16″.
Denim lapis lazuli; sterling silver
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The second strand is nearly identical to the one pictured above, the primary difference being the patterning fo the stones. It’s shown here:
The Kewa Pueblo mother-and-daughter team of Clarita and Vera Tenorio have created this single-strand necklace of matched denim lapis lazuli beads. Oval with sculpted ends, the beads are strung together firmly, tight enough to lay each bead flat, or to turn them at random for a chunkier look. The stones themselves range from cobalt to indigo, with mysterious matrices of darker blues, golds, and a wisp of silvery white here and there. Slightly longer than choker-length at 16″, designed to rest just below the hollow of the throat.
Denim lapis lazuli; sterling silver findings
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Once again, the beads shown immediately above are near-flat ovals, knotted individually and manipulable for effect with regard to depth. They differ from the more traditional beads in the third necklace in this grouping, shown below:
Natural coral is increasingly difficult to find, due to its endangered status. Many of our Native artisans, beadworkers, and stone-cutters have taken steps to ensure that no bit of coral goes to waste: All the chips and dust left over from cutting and cabbing is carefully collected, then heat-treated to meld all the tiniest bits together into larger pieces that can then be formed into cabochons and beads. And so it is with the coin-disc beads used in this strand, handcrafted by Clarita and Vera Tenorio (Kewa Pueblo). It’s real coral, treated to conserve and use as much as possible, and the heat that melds it all creates mysteriously beautiful swirls in a dizzying range of hues. Each round bead is ever so slightly domed for extra depth, and the entire strand hangs just past choker length for a classic look. Two substantial sterling silver round beads followed by two miniature ones finish off each end of the strand.
Apple coral; sterling silver
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
We’ve covered apple coral in some detail here already. It’s a stunningly lovely “stone,” with psychedelic, near-kaleidoscopic colors and patterns along the red-to-brown spectrum. Here, it provides a cost-effective way to wear coral in a traditional manner without the astronomical cost of obtaining vintage coral beads.
The beads shown here are an old style, known as “coin-disc beads” for their coin-like medallion shape. They’re not entirely flat; in fact, there’s convexity on either side, giving them a substantial feel between the fingertips. Nonetheless, in the hands of talented beadworkers like the Tenorios, the convexity is no bar to proper presentation: strung and knotted with the kind of skill these women possess, they lie flat against the collarbone.
This sort of work provides access to traditional beadwork styles and skill without the usual great cost: natural materials that, while not the archetypal materials found in the most expensive vintage versions, are still clearly within the same family; a quality of workmanship that harkens back to the oldest forms; and a traditional art form at a cost that is vastly more affordable.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
