Vintage NOS Sterling Silver
Turquoise and Claw Bracelet
HK Item #BP391 - size 6 3/4"

Louisiana Collection                   

A splendid Chippewa gentleman who was a disabled veteran, operated a Native American jewelry store in Louisiana which he loved very much. He and his wife shopped in the southwest for their store. When he passed on, his wife, also a disabled veteran, didn't feel she would be able to operate the store alone and besides the memories of her dear husband were so entwined with the jewelry, she felt she needed to move on. After a few years, and with the help of a good girlfriend, she began going through the items in her storage locker and sending them to us to find new homes for.

All of these items are New Old Stock and some of them are vintage. This is quite a large collection which we will be listing for some time to come.

Bear is considered the most powerful of all of the animals and is one of the most popular subjects of fetish carvers. Bear is a spiritual guide and represents strength and self-knowledge. He has supernatural powers, great healing powers. Bear is a symbol deliberate action, introspection, soul and insight for the past and the future. The Bear is the guardian of the West an is one of the animals of the Six Directions.

Bears are the main figure in the Mountain Way, an important Navajo ceremony. Bear claws are a traditional adornment to pendants and bracelets.

(Note: Almost all natural bear claws have a slight imperfection - many of them have a rub mark, a scratch, a crack or even a piece missing. Like the lines in people's fingernails, these imperfections are just part of the claw. In fact, that is one way you can tell that the bear claw is authentic and not man-made.)