Bidspirit auction | Herbert & Esther Cellicion Zuni

Herbert & Esther Cellicion Zuni Sterling & Inlaid Squash Blossom Necklace - Stamped on the reverse of the pendant. The necklace is inlaid with turquoise, coral, and other semi-precious stones.    Length: 25”  Pendant: 2” x 2”  Weight: 102.5g   Condition: The necklace is in good condition.    Artist Bio: Zuni lapidaries began building their jewelry around figures in the years after World War II, and inlay became the pueblo's signature: stone and shell cut to fit so tightly within a silver frame that the metal reads as little more than an outline. Several Zuni jewelers named Cellicion are documented inlayers, among them Herbert and Esther Cellicion, a husband and wife who worked as a team and stamped their pieces H.E. Cellicion. Their specialty was mosaic and raised inlay in turquoise, coral, jet, mother of pearl and pink shell, with each stone shaped and set so that parts of the figure stand slightly above the rest. Their favorite subjects were the Rainbow Man, the Knifewing and butterflies. The Rainbow Man, a figure tied in Zuni stories to rain and to the farmers who depend on it, appears again and again in their bolo ties, pins and pendants. Gregory Schaaf's reference on Southwestern jewelers records them active from before 1990. This squash blossom necklace is inlaid in that manner and stamped on the reverse of the pendant.