Vintage Sterling Silver Sandcast Yei Pin

Horsekeeping LLC - Made in USA - since 1997

Vintage Sterling Silver Sandcast Yei Pin
HK Item #PN456

Materials	sterling silver, Read about silver
Size	2 1/4" long x 1 3/8" tall 1 1/8" long pin
Weight	13 grams
Hallmarks	none
Artist	unknown
Condition	Vintage, pre-owned, excellent; even bright patina

How to Wear any Pin as a Pendant

Questions or more details.

Store Policies

Paula says - "In my opinion, this vintage pin shows all the design characteristics and workmanship of being Navajo made. But because there is no hallmark that we can attribute to a specific artist we can't legally sell it as Native American made - read more."

Vintage Sterling Silver Sandcast Yei Pin

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Navajo Yei Figure

Yei is a shortened version of YeiBeiChei, a holy figure in the Navajo culture.

The yei figure symbolizes healing powers.

Appearing as Petroglyphs (Rock Art) in North America, Yei figures are often use in healing sand paintings and woven into rugs. The figures can be found depicted standing upright, curved, angled and in a three-sided square.

There are male and female yei figures. Female yei have square heads and male yei are depicted with round heads.

Yei figures fashioned into jewelry are less common so are treasures not to be passed up.

What does Sand Cast mean?

Sand cast items are Indian Hand Made items using a procedure developed by the Navajo silversmiths in the mid 1800s. It is a labor-intensive process that involves many steps.

Using Tuff Stone, a porous rock from volcanic ash, Tufa Stone, a porous limestone that forms near hot springs, or Sandstone, a harder stone, the artist carves the design of the item being cast. Another flat stone is placed against the carved half of the mold. The halves are fastened together and a sprue hole is carved into one end. Molten silver is poured into the mold using the sprue hole. Once the silver cools, the item is taken out and finished. Bracelets are poured flat and then shaped.

Due to the porous nature of Tuff or Sand Stone, sandcast items will have character marks and imperfections such as small pits. That is the nature of Sand Casting and Indian Hand Made.

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 (, 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.

Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition © 2013 Horsekeeping LLC © Copyright Information
Patina	A dark or colored film of oxidation that forms naturally on metal by exposure to air and other elements. It is often valued for its aesthetically pleasing appearance. All items in our Vintage Shop have some patina, even .
Vintage	30 years or older.
	New Old Stock. Made at least 20 years ago but never used.
Pre-owned	An item that has been used.

Why isn't this item called Native American?

The US Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 and its recent Amendments require that items described as Native American or Indian be made by an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. Furthermore, government regulations suggest that all attributions include the Native American Indian's name, tribe and federal tribal enrollment number. Because it is impossible to identify the artist for many vintage items, even if they are authentic Indian made items, we cannot and will not use the words Native American or Indian in association with such pieces.

Read about authenticity of Native American Indian jewelry.