Today is a special day in our world: It’s the first birthday, or perhaps more accurately the one-year anniversary, of The NDN Silver Blog. We launched this feature on July 1st, 2014 (on Wings’s own birthday, as it happens), and we’ve brought you a new post here every single day for 365 days in a row (and counting).
I’ve been promising you for two weeks now that we would also be bringing you fire this week, and I meant it. This day seems the perfect time to introduce Wings’s latest collection: The Firebird Collection.
It’s a trinity, a trilogy, a triptych: three separate and singularly spectacular necklaces, all of similar materials and built around a common theme. As it happens, however, he’s also created two more pieces that coordinate with these three, one pair of earrings and one cuff, and we’ll bring you those this weekend. For now, let me introduce you to our Firebirds.
Immediately below is a full view of the piece pictured above, one of Wings’s masterworks. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Firebird Necklace
The standard-bearer of Wings’s Firebird series. The Firebird is a spirit being, a wingéd one in red and black who emerges from the flames to fly between the worlds. Wings has captured her essence in this magnificent piece, a necklace in a feathery shape that takes visual and tactile flight. The wing-like pendant, a spectacular bezel-set rosarita teardrop trimmed in twisted silver, fans out into tips of sterling silver and old natural blood-red coral. It hangs from a substantial hand-made bail embossed with images of the Eye of Spirit looking in all directions. The entire pendant is suspended from a stunning strand of traditional beads formed of alternating segments of apple coral rondels and jet discs, all tapering upward in classic graduated style. The beads are 18.5 inches long; the pendant hangs 2.75 inches long (including bail); the setting is inches 1.75 long by one inch across at the widest point; and the rosarita cabochon itself is 1.25 inches long by 11/16 of an inch across at the widest point (dimensions approximate). Other views shown at the link.
Sterling silver; rosarita (gold slag); branch coral; apple coral; jet
$2,200 + shipping, handling, and insurance
No, the piece was not named for the late (and inimitably great) Native prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief, although it would have been perfect for her. She was THE Firebird, the one without peer, and as a child, she was my role model, my hero and hope. The red and black would have suited her perfectly, and she would have worn it with all of the grace and spirit that she infused into the classic role itself.
But this Firebird refers to the spirit bird, one of unparalleled elemental power. It’s a perfect embodiment of that identity, too.
The second in the series is named for the native bird whose colors it bears: the red-winged blackbird. At one point in my childhood, the red-wing became my favorite bird for a time. Indigenous to virtually all of Turtle Island, the male is a truly magnificent small bird, a glossy black cloak of near-iridescence, its shiny deep hue broken only by a pair of wing bars on either side: wide bands of brilliant red edged with a narrower strip of off-white. The wing color and imagery found its way into the collection’s second piece, simultaneously subtle and bold, much like the little bird itself. From its description:
RedWing Necklace
Second in Wings’s Firebird series: this one, evoking the colorful feathers of the red-winged blackbird native to this land. A single wing of brilliantly polished rosarita, bezel-set and trimmed in twisted silver, opens into “feathers” of two small sterling silver spacer beads flanked by a pair of larger ones. The pendant hangs from a strand of beads in the colors of the blackbird’s cloak: graduated glossy natural jet discs alternating with the crimson of old natural branch coral, terminating at either end in a segment of tiny olivella-shell heishi in the delicate ivory color of the bird’s wing bars. The pendant hangs 1-7/8″ in length (including bail) by 7/8″ across at the widest point (the silver beads at the bottom). The cabochon is 1-1/8″ long by 5/8″ across at the widest point. The strand of beads is just over 17.5″ (all dimensions approximate). Close-up view of pendant shown at the link.
Sterling silver; rosarita (gold slag); branch coral; jet; ivory olivella-shell heishi
$1,600 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It’s an impressive tribute to a wingéd one of relatively small stature, but if you’ve ever heard Red-Wing’s song, you’ll know the beauty and import of its message.
The third entry in this collection evokes a bird that is larger in size, and one with its own symbolic significance for many of our peoples. It’s not just any bird, but a raptor, one of great power. We are fortunate to have a mated pair make their home here with us; the larger female has proven endlessly willing to serve as messenger, escort, guide, and subject for my photographs, and her image now serves as my avatar and inspiration.
The red-tailed hawk is similarly indigenous to virtually all of this ancient land, and while her colors are more muted than those of her red-winged counterpart, they are more widely variable. He captured her spirit in the third piece in this series, a strand of beads in all of the shades of her feathery cloak, ending in a pendant fanned outward like her brilliant crimson tail. From its description:
RedTail Necklace
Third in Wings’s Firebird series: this one, embodying the identity and appearance of the red-tailed hawk who presides over the air currents. A single large, flawlessly red triangle of rosarita fans out like the in the shape of the tailfeathers that give the hawk her name. Bezel-set and trimmed with twisted silver, it hangs suspended, via a hand-made bail studded with stylized hearts, from a strand of gemstone beads in the colors of the hawk’s robe: fiery red sponge coral; glossy black onyx; Picasso marble in gray-white and gold; and warm translucent shades of russet brown olivella-shell heishi in two graduated sizes. The strand of beads is 18 inches long; the pendant hangs 1-5/8 inches long (including bail), and is 1-1/8 inches across at the widest point; the cabochon is 1-1/8 inches long by one inch across at the widest point (dimensions approximate). Other views shown at the link.
Sterling silver; rosarita (gold slag); sponge coral; onyx; Picasso marble; olivella-shell heishi
$1,500 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The symbolism associated with this piece carries great spiritual weight. After all, warriors and hunters alike revel in names that call upon her likeness; in some traditions, her feathers contain powerful medicine.
The Firebirds, a collection of some of Wings’s most astonishing work to date, are a perfect way to open our second year here at The NDN Silver Blog.
~ 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.
