Mary Tafoya Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo Charm Necklace
Mary Tafoya creates innovative designs in mosaic which sets her apart from most other Santo Domingo pueblo artists.
This is one of Mary's master works, with seven strands of beads, there are 45 three dimensional mosaic cubes, various rounded beads, inlaid shells holding the clasps, as well as small heishi, which forms the background for the necklace. The materials include virtually all the materials in Tafoya's repertoire: Kingman turquoise, lapis lazuli, thuleite, rhodochrosite, gaspeite, serpentine, sugilite, jet, malachite, spiny oyster shell, and more.
Each mosaic cube is a work of art on its own; unique to this necklace are six flower shaped spotted shell sandwiches. Combined, the heishi, mosaic beads, and all the other elements result in a truly wonderful wearable piece of art.
