SOLD: Jesse Monongya: Seven-Sided Sterling Silver, Coral and Turquoise Bracelet

Navajo/Hopi jeweler Jesse Monongya probably made this piece in 1986. Forty-three pieces of fine, richly-colored cobbled coral are punctuated by two pieces of contrasting turquoise as they are set parallel to one another around the five facets of this small masterpiece.

Classic Monongya inlayed “dots,” of turquoise and coral, also decorate the polished silver surfaces of the bracelet. The arrangement of these tiny signature design elements --which, in some of his other works, represent stars and planets--is different on each side of the bracelet and, like the composition of the piece as a whole, they suggest a balanced, almost lyrical, symmetry without being predictable or identical.

Like a classic book that always offers something new with repeated readings, this bracelet exists not only as a testament to the skill and attention to detail found in all of Jesse’s work but also offers a sense of quiet, perpetual surprise. Both simple and profound in vision and design, this bracelet is a master piece of art that also is a joy to wear. (JH, DH)