{"product_id":"the-first-thunder-collection-six-harvey-era-turquoise-and-silver-thunderbird-cuffs","title":"The First Thunder Collection - Six Harvey Era Turquoise and Silver Thunderbird Cuffs","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOkay, this is exactly the kind of group I hope to stumble into when I’m hunting old Southwestern silver.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNot because the six cuffs match.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBecause they don’t.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a little cross-section of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHarvey-era Southwestern jewelry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, when silversmiths were turning thunderbirds, arrows, wings, whirling forms, geometric stamps and turquoise into this wonderfully recognizable visual language. Every bracelet here approaches it differently—some almost pictographic, some sculptural, some covered in handwork, and some reduced to one stone and a handful of beautifully placed marks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePut them together and suddenly you’re looking at more than six bracelets.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou’re looking at an era.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhy This Collection Matters\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Harvey era” refers broadly to the period when tourism through the American Southwest—particularly along the Santa Fe Railway and the Fred Harvey Company’s hotels and trading network—helped create an enormous new audience for Southwestern Native American jewelry.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom roughly the early decades of the 20th century into the mid-century period, silverwork made for this growing market developed a particularly recognizable vocabulary: lighter wearable forms, turquoise settings, repoussé work, deeply stamped decoration and romantic Southwestern imagery.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe thunderbird became one of the defining motifs of that vocabulary.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd this collection is basically a six-piece study in how wonderfully varied that vocabulary could be.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLook at the two cuffs at the upper right. The birds aren’t merely stamped onto bracelets—their wings actually become part of the architecture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen look at the lower-right cuff. A single turquoise cabochon sits inside a field of pictographic stampwork: birds, arrows, geometric devices and tiny marks moving around the silver like a sentence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe three-stone pieces take another route entirely, using turquoise as the visual rhythm while silver drops, scallops, stamping and repoussé create the framework around it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd then there’s that cuff sitting alone at the top: one gorgeous green turquoise stone, openwork shoulders and stamped silver radiating outward.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSame world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCompletely different personalities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtifact Registry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCollection:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The First Thunder Collection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eObjects:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Six vintage Harvey-era Southwestern cuffs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e American Southwest; Native American \/ Southwestern silverwork, with individual attribution where identifiable\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMaterials:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Silver and turquoise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEra:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHarvey Era — approximately early-to-mid 20th century; individual pieces may date differently\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eConstruction:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Hand-fabricated and hand-decorated silverwork\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTechniques Represented:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Hand stamping, repoussé, appliqué, stone setting, silver drops, twisted wire and openwork\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMotifs:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Thunderbirds, arrows, wings and geometric\/pictographic devices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCondition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Vintage condition with naturally accumulated patina, wear and surface character\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCurator’s Field Observation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere’s what I think is cool about Harvey-era jewelry: people sometimes talk about it as though it’s one \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003estyle\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThen you put six good examples next to each other and realize how inadequate that description is.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese makers were working with a shared vocabulary, not following a single design.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBird. Stone. Arrow. Silver. Sky.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMove those elements around and suddenly the thunderbird can become a tiny stamp, an enormous appliqué, an entire bracelet structure or almost an abstract symbol.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat’s why I wanted these together.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne cuff gives you an object. Six cuffs let you see the language.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEric’s Notes from the Field\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI have apparently decided that old thunderbirds are Pokémon and my job is to catch every single one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI stand by this.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere is something ridiculously good about Harvey-era jewelry when you put a bunch of it together. None of it is trying to be perfect. Stamps wander. Silver has gone dark. Turquoise has lived an entire life. Birds occasionally look like they were designed by someone who had heard a description of a bird but had never personally encountered one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTHAT IS THE GOOD STUFF.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe First Thunder Collection is six survivors from one of my favorite chapters of Southwestern jewelry history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWear one if you’re reasonable.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eStack three if you’ve been shopping with me for long enough to know that reasonableness was never really the plan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hespera Jewelry Co.","offers":[{"title":"Crossed Arrows","offer_id":47824468410545,"sku":null,"price":595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Little Thunder","offer_id":47824468443313,"sku":null,"price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Sky Messenger","offer_id":47824468476081,"sku":null,"price":345.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Thunderbird Road","offer_id":47824468508849,"sku":null,"price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Three Green Moons","offer_id":47824468541617,"sku":null,"price":545.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Desert Constellation","offer_id":47824468574385,"sku":null,"price":445.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0153\/9641\/files\/A1F5D75F-5B98-44C1-8583-8470750E5E27.jpg?v=1786115617","url":"https:\/\/hespera.com\/products\/the-first-thunder-collection-six-harvey-era-turquoise-and-silver-thunderbird-cuffs","provider":"Hespera Jewelry Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}