Concho (ornament)

A concho or concha is a typically oval silver ornament found in Native American art. Conchos are most closely associated with the Navajo people, with one of the best known forms being the concho belt.

Navajo (Diné). Concho Belt, 1880s. The Art Institute of Chicago.

Conchos were first made by eastern tribes such as the Delaware and Shawnee, who learned jewelry-making from Europeans. Following their resettlement in Oklahoma in the 1830s, they passed the art form on to Plains tribes including the Comanche, Kiowa and Ute, who in turn introduced it to the Navajo of the Southwest. The Navajo later began making conchos around the 1870s to 1880s, after they had learned the craft of silversmithing from Rio Grande Mexican peoples. The name concho comes from concha, the Spanish word for 'seashell'.[1][2][3]

References
  1. Townsend, Richard Fraser (2016). Indian Art of the Americas at the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago. pp. 91–93. ISBN 9780300214833.
  2. Shah, Maria (2018). "The Question of Authenticity in Native American Art - A Focus on Navajo Jewelry" (PDF). Proceedings of The National Conference On Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2018. University of Central Oklahoma. p. 620.
  3. "Jewelry Collectors Guide – Concho Jewelry". Indian Pueblo Store. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
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