Elgene Sehongva, Hopi - Sterling Silver Overlay
Bear Paw Post Earrings
HK Item #E555

Shopping < All Jewelry < Vintage Shop < Vintage Earrings

Authentic Native American sterling silver Bear Paw Post earrings by Hopi artist Elgene Sehongva

Elgene Sehongva, Hopi
Sterling Silver Overlay
Bear Paw Post Earrings

E555 - $95 plus s/h
(ONLY ONE PAIR AVAILABLE)

condition	pre-owned, excellent; bright patina; straight posts
size	1" long
materials	sterling silver, Read about silver
hallmarks	stamped: ES STERLING
artist	Elgene Sehongva, Hopi

More Vintage Shop Earrings

New Earrings

Bargain Barn Earrings

What is Overlay?

Native American overlay pieces are made of two layers of sterling silver. The bottom layer is a solid piece while the top layer has a cutout design. The cutout layer is placed over the bottom layer and the two pieces are "sweated" together, heated so that they become one solid piece of sterling silver. The bottom layer, or background, that shows through the cut out portion of the top layer is often darkened for contrast.

Hopi silversmiths typically texture the background layer with hash marks while Navajo artists often leave the background smooth. Hopi artists tend to use geometric designs and symbols similar to those used in their pottery and baskets. Navajo silversmiths tend to create scenes depicting everyday life using people, animals, buildings and landscapes to tell a story - this style is called "overlay storyteller jewelry". Read more about overlay here.

Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition © 2015 Horsekeeping LLC © Copyright Information
Patina	A dark or colored film of oxidation that forms naturally on metal exposure to air and other elements. It is often valued for its aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Vintage	30 years or older.
NOS	New Old Stock. Retail store inventory from at least 10 years ago.
Pre-owned	An item that has been used.

NOTE: Items in our Vintage Shop are either USED or NEW. They might come from inheritances, estate sales, private collections, and store liquidations. Many items are brand new (NOS, New Old Stock) and in perfect condition while others may show tarnish, scratches and other signs of use. Major issues will be described in detail and shown in photos. Vintage Shop items are sold as described and are not returnable.

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

We are in the vintage Native American jewelry rescue business and are passionate about finding new homes for used and vintage jewelry and artifacts. That's why we purchase Native American pieces from estates, inheritances, collection downsizing and New Old Stock (NOS) inventory from closed stores.

Often people contact us after taking a box of Native American jewelry to their local pawn shop and find that a pawn shop is mainly interested in melt value of the metals and not in preserving the beautiful historic pieces. To hear that people have considered selling these treasures for melt value makes us truly sad.

Melt value is usually far below what we would offer for the jewelry. Yet we can't pay retail price for items because of the time and cost involved in finding new homes for them. We have to research, often repair and restore the jewelry, photograph and list each item on our website, and sometimes hold pieces in inventory for years until the right buyer comes along.

We hope you'll find something special in our vintage shop that will complete yet another circle of our jewelry re-homing mission.

Elgene Sehongva, Hopi - Sterling Silver Overlay Bear Paw Post Earrings HK Item #E555

What is Overlay?

Our Rescue Missionof Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

Elgene Sehongva, Hopi - Sterling Silver Overlay
Bear Paw Post Earrings
HK Item #E555

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts