Past Exhibitions

Turquoise, Water, Sky: The Stone and Its Meaning

April 13, 2014 through May 30, 2016

Turquoise’s Companions
Turquoise’s Companions Many of the materials that accompany turquoise on southwestern jewelry come from oceans, reinforcing the water symbolism of turquoise. Here the raw materials are shown beside jewelry made from them. Raw materials are jet (Cat # 40885/12, 7” by 3.5 inches); abalone (Cat # 36751/12, 5” by 6.5”); spiny oyster or Spondylus sp. shell (Cat# 57795/12, 5” by 5”); and coral (Cat# 57808/12, 4” wide by 3” long). The earrings (Cat#36134/12a,b, 1.1” by 1.3” each) were made by Hopi artist Talaqumptewa and are made of cottonwood, turquoise, abalone, and cotton cordage . The necklace (Cat # 57080/12, 17”long) was made in Santo Domingo Pueblo of turquoise, coral, jet, spiny oyster, mother-of-pearl, silver, and fiber.

BRACELET
Bracelet, 1920–30, Navajo. Silver, Fox Mine turquoise. Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology (10189). Photograph by Blair Clark.

Turquoise, Water, Sky: The Stone and Its Meaning highlights the Museum’s extensive collection of Southwestern turquoise jewelry and presents all aspects of the stone, from geology, mining and history, to questions of authenticity and value.

People in the Southwest have used turquoise for jewelry and ceremonial purposes and traded valuable stones both within and outside the region for over a thousand years. Turquoise, Water, Sky presents hundreds of necklaces, bracelets, belts, rings, earrings, silver boxes and other objects illustrating how the stone was used and its deep significance to the people of the region. This comprehensive consideration of the stone runs through May 2, 2016.

View the online version of the exhibition at http://turquoise.indianartsandculture.org



Squash-blossom necklace
Squash-blossom necklace, 1920–39, Navajo, maker unknown. Silver, Turquoise Mountain turquoise. Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology (45626/12). Photograph by Blair Clark.




Now on Exhibit

ReVOlution
MIAC’s 2022 Living Treasure, Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti)

May 1, 2022 through April 1, 2023

Here, Now and Always
Opening July 2, 3, 2022

July 2, 2022 through July 2, 2024

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery

July 31, 2022 through May 29, 2023