Use of Coral in American Indian Jewelry

Silver and turquoise have long held claim to the stereotypical image of southwestern Native American jewelry. Made famous by the Navajo in the 20th century, these materials have overshadowed some of the other striking elements in the craft. For instance, the intense color of red coral lies front and center in many Native American pieces. A unique gem, red coral was said to hold mythical powers that would help those who wore it.

Red Coral as a Gemstone

Coral is one of few gemstones derived from living material and is, therefore, considered "organic." It comes in a variety of colors including orange, pink, red, and white. However, red coral is the most valued. Corallium rubrum, and the other similar species of coral from which the gems are derived, need specific water temperatures and conditions to thrive and are, hence, only found in certain areas, such as the Mediterranean, at water depths of 25 to 1,000 feet. Although these corals also live inside tiny calcified polyps (a kind of hardened tube), they are not to be confused with the famous, and endangered, reef corals.

Pre-Columbian Jewelry

Stone Age peoples worked red coral into sepulchers as early as 30,000 years ago. However, the introduction of red coral into Native American jewelery occurred much more recently--only 600 years ago. At this time southwestern Native Americans already had a tradition of bead-making using spiny oyster shells from the Gulf of Mexico to achieve effects similar to those that they would later create with red coral. They alternated these beads in patterns with abalone shell and turquoise on necklaces called "heishe" after the Santo Domingo word for shell.

European Trade

When they arrived in the Americas, the Europeans introduced red coral harvested from the Mediterranean near Spain and Italy. This red coral goes by the name of "oxblood coral" or just "blood coral." The Native Americans quickly adapted this red coral into their jewelry making. The San Domingo tribe shaped the red coral into wampum style beads where as the Hopi and the Zuni used them for dance ornamentation. The Hopi featured red coral pieces in their snake dances, and the Zuni liked to alternate the gem with beads of black jet.

Mythical Powers

The Native American tribes of the Southwest ascribed mythical powers to red coral. The gem was said to cure ailments, bestow luck, lengthen lives and increase fertility. Therefore, husbands hoping for a healthy child gave red coral to their wives when they were about to bear children.

Craftsmanship

Native American craftsmen cut red coral into a "cabochon" cut, the typical cut for opaque stones. The cabochon cut is convex, rounded, and polished--but not faceted. Until the 20th century, the jewelry makers would hand drill, hand cut, and hand grind the red coral into very regularly shaped beads. In the 1880s and 1890s, the railroad came through the American Southwest and, with it, arrived new instruments and increased trading. The improved technology led to the development of beveling among the Navajo and other tribes. This beveling technique used slivers of metal (usually silver) folded around the red coral to set it into rings, bracelets, belts, belt buckles, earrings, and pendants. Today, admirers covet these older Native American pieces because not only they are handmade, the Mediterranean red coral they contain is now very rare.

References

• History of Red Coral in American Indian Jewelry
• Descriptions of Different Stones used in American Indian Jewelry
• History of Navajo Craftsmanship

Resources

• Article on Red Coral