A gorgeous old necklace probably made at Kewa/Santo Domingo decades ago. Old, hand rolled heishi was strung with large pump drilled turquoise and shell pieces. The large pieces of turquoise and shell have luscious surface wear. The turquoise shows the multiple planes that result from being ground and shaped on a stone. The years have smoothed and softened those angles. All natural stones, the turquoise has aged wonderfully, with some pieces darkening to dark forest green. The smallest shells look like spiny oyster. I’m not sure of the species of the larger shell pieces, but they’re layers of whites and red/orange/browns. There are four small pieces of drilled branch coral, two at the clasp and two in the string. Hook to eye, the strand is about 31″ long. The largest turquoise piece is 1 1/8″ x 7/8.”
In good, wearable condition with some wear; two of the darkest green turquoise pieces have lost small bits. Note that there are two different stringing materials in the necklace. It looks to me like some owner wanted to strengthen the necklace so they ran a double thread through and around what is the old string. You can see this on the two barrel shaped coral near the hook and eye. A gorgeous, historic piece.
