{"product_id":"she-dreamed-in-copper-by-ronald-tom","title":"She Dreamed in Copper by Ronald Tom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSome stones look like landscapes. This one looks like an entire origin story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRonald Tom built this maiden around an extraordinary expanse of Bisbee turquoise—electric blue interrupted by islands and rivers of rust-colored matrix, as though the copper country that produced it refused to leave quietly. Above the stone, her silver face rests with closed eyes and an open mouth, caught somewhere between singing, dreaming, and telling us something we probably should have listened to the first time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhy This Piece Matters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRonald Tom is a fifth-generation Diné silversmith whose maidens have become among the most recognizable figures in his contemporary work. Each is created as an individual character, built through substantial silverwork and organized around a singular stone.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis maiden belongs to the monumental end of that tradition. At 39.6 grams, she is not a decorative frame arranged around a cabochon. She is a fully realized silver figure whose body is formed by an exceptional piece of natural Bisbee turquoise.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBisbee is one of the great historic names in American turquoise. Recovered from the copper country surrounding Bisbee, Arizona, it is prized for intensely saturated blue color and distinctive brown, red, or chocolate matrix. Large, visually complete cabochons of this quality are increasingly difficult to replace—and Ronald understood that the stone did not need to be subdued. It needed a face.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtifact Registry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eArtist:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Ronald Tom\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eCultural affiliation:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Diné\/Navajo\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eObject:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Monumental maiden pendant\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eMaterials:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Sterling silver and natural Bisbee turquoise\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eConstruction:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Hand-fabricated and cast sterling silver with repoussé, appliqué, twisted wire, beadwork, stamping, engraving, and oxidized details\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eSignature:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Stamped \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR. Tom \/ STERLING\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eWeight:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 39.6 grams\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e [ADD OVERALL LENGTH × WIDTH]\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eBail opening:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e [ADD INTERNAL DIMENSIONS]\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eDate:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Contemporary\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eCondition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Excellent, with minor surface variation inherent to handmade silverwork and natural turquoise\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eCollector’s Gallery Value:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e$2,995\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCurator’s Field Observation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe stone is breathtaking, but the success of the pendant lies in how Ronald controls everything around it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe large Bisbee cabochon becomes the maiden’s body, surrounded by a heavy twisted-wire border and an elaborate constellation of silver beads, stamped crescents, repoussé forms, scrolls, rosettes, and tiny floral clusters. The arrangement is dense without becoming confused. Every silver element directs the eye inward toward the turquoise and then upward toward the face.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHer expression is wonderfully mysterious. The eyes are reduced to two groups of deeply stamped lines; the mouth is a dark triangular opening. Neither smiling nor solemn, she appears caught in the act of speaking—or perhaps singing directly to the stone beneath her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHer hair and crown are constructed from overlapping scales, flowers, feathers, beads, and crescent forms. Above them, Ronald builds a second architectural flourish that transitions into an enormous hand-stamped bail. Even the bail refuses to become hardware: it is fully incorporated into the sculpture, finished with sweeping intersecting lines and a raised silver heart.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe reverse is unusually clean. A single substantial backplate follows the maiden’s silhouette, protecting the stone and giving the entire pendant the solidity expected of a major collector’s piece.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtifact Character Record\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eKnown as:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShe Dreamed in Copper\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eRole:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Keeper of the blue country\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eExpression:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Eyes closed, mouth open, message apparently ongoing\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eTemperament:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Serene until contradicted\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eElement:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Turquoise born beside copper\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eArmor:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Forty grams of silver, flowers, feathers, and excellent judgment\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eSpecial ability:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Making every other pendant on the necklace look underdressed\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eNatural habitat:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Center stage, obviously\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEric’s Notes From the Field\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is the moment when turquoise stops being a material and becomes the entire plot.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLook at that stone. It has the blue everyone wants from Bisbee, but it also has that wild rust-colored matrix moving through it like a map of the copper earth it came from. Ronald could have put it in a beautiful conventional frame and produced a very expensive pendant. Instead, he gave it a face, a voice, and a complete silver mythology.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI love that her eyes are closed. She does not appear interested in being looked at, which naturally makes it impossible to look anywhere else.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is one of Ronald Tom’s maidens at full power: enormous stone, extraordinary silverwork, oversized handmade bail, and a personality capable of carrying the entire room.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hespera Jewelry Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47933836984497,"sku":null,"price":2495.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0153\/9641\/files\/80799C32-6802-48B2-A013-8F6C11238D36.jpg?v=1789522940","url":"https:\/\/hespera.com\/products\/she-dreamed-in-copper-by-ronald-tom","provider":"Hespera Jewelry Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}