A PERSONAL WORD ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Unlike many other Kewa Puebloan artists, Warren Nieto doesn’t simply create mosaic-lapidary work for the sake of visual appeal alone. Instead, he consistently designs each piece with a meaningful and authentic Pueblo story at its core, ensuring that every creation, carries deep cultural significance. Warren happens to be not only a true favorite of mine but also possesses a powerful presence that resonates with people all around the globe. He proudly carries with him the rich traditions that have been carefully and respectfully passed down from generation to generation through an extensive and profound oral history. This history stretches back as far as the Common Era years, when Warren’s ancestors lived in the historic Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Bonito, and Mesa Verde regions of America—long before the arrival of any settlers on these lands.

Ancestral Puebloan sites, such as the renowned Chaco Canyon, have documented that pueblo ancestors were situated at the heart of extensive turquoise trade routes that stretched from the Pacific Northwest all the way down to Central America. These important trade routes not only facilitated the exchange of turquoise but also brought in a variety of shells, tusks, and other natural materials into the cultural sphere of ancestral Pueblo communities. This rich influx of diverse materials played a significant role in making their intricate mosaic pieces vibrant, colorful, and truly unique, reflecting a broad network of connections across regions.

When the idea of recreating some of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan and pre-historic Hohokam jewelry first came to mind, there was truly no other artist I could trust more to bring this vision to life with genuine authenticity and meticulous care than Warren. Right from the start, he immediately understood exactly what I was referring to and shared in the excitement wholeheartedly. I was completely confident that the work would be completed with the utmost respect, skill, and precision, supported by his profound historical knowledge and expertise. What you’ll receive from Warren are like beautifully painted Puebloan stories, masterfully and artfully expressed through the thoughtful combination of many vibrant stones and delicate, carefully selected shells. Each creation reflects a profound cultural heritage and timeless artistry.

THE NECKLACE:

This ancient inspired, but modern made necklace is a distinctive and meaningful part of Warren’s “Ancestral Puebloan Series,” where he thoughtfully and skillfully takes us on a captivating journey back through time with designs that closely resemble the jewelry his ancestors might have worn, dating back to approximately the 1100-1200 CE time period. Throughout the creation of this necklace, Warren paid meticulous attention to every intricate detail, ensuring that it remains as historically accurate and faithful to the original era as possible, preserving the spirit of the past. (See photo 3)

Designed with an exquisite combination of orangy red, teal green, and creamy white tones, this remarkably designed necklace’s main focus, is on the red Spiny Oyster shell Thunderbird that Warren hand-sculpted, which gives the piece its unmistakable southwestern vibe and cultural significance. Masterfully cutting and shaping all the “Nacozari Sonoran” turquoise into tiny pieces, he then carefully mosaic inlaid each cut so they lay perfectly atop the spiny oyster shell base beneath. This ancient original Ancestral Puebloan Thunderbird design, rich in symbolism, can clearly be seen in photo 3.

At the shoulders of the Thunderbird, a string is tightly tied off so it could then be expertly used to string the hand-cut Glycymeris clam shell heishi beads with precision and care. From the bird motif to the middle section of the necklace, Warren used the same material for the eight tabs on each side, which help to give it, its somewhat uniform and harmonious color tones throughout. Nearing the closure of the necklace, there are trapezoidal-shaped “Cones” that are thoughtfully designed to be reversible while you wear it, adding versatility and uniqueness.

Lastly, what REALLY impresses me the most, is how Warren ingeniously came up with this brilliant idea for the necklace’s closure by taking a small, carefully carved bone for one end, then creating a complementary “T” shaped piece made of vibrant Spiny Oyster for the other end to make his own custom toggle! Now, if that isn’t impressive workmanship and creativity, I truly don’t know what is!!!

Remarkably, no metal was used whatsoever in the design; instead, this exquisite necklace is entirely made using specialized techniques where “Lapidary Art” plays a crucial and important role. This art form highlights the extraordinary beauty and exceptional skill involved in carefully cutting and shaping every single material. This isn’t your average everyday necklace, but a TRUE and breathtaking work of ART!

Be sure to check out Warren’s Ancestral Puebloan earrings & more necklaces, including "HOHOKAM" inspired necklaces!! (A ultra gorgeous 5 strand Charm Necklace from the series can be found under “Necklaces”, whereas all the others are under this same “Necklace 2” category! Earrings are under the “Earrings 3” category!

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ANCESTRAL PUEBLO SERIES NECKLACE:

ARTIST: WARREN NIETO - MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR PLATA de SANTA FE JEWELRY

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: KEWA VILLAGE-(SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO)

WEARABLE LENGTH: 25” (MEASURED LAYING HORIZONTALLY-FROM CLOSURE TO CLOSURE- MEASURED WITHOUT THE THUNDERBIRD)

THUNDERBIRD ALONE: 3.25” X 3.25”

TOTAL LENGTH: ABOUT : 28-1/4”

WEIGHT: 186 GRAMS (6.6 OUNCES)

TURQUOISE MOSAIC IN THUNDERBIRD PENDANT, TABS & “CONES”: NACOZARI SONORAN TURQUOISE

OTHER MATERIALS: RED & ORANGE SPINY OYSTER-GLYCYMERIS CLAM SHELL HEISHI BEADS -BLACK JET & MOP (ACCENTS ON TOP OF THUNDERBIRD)-WAXED STRING-BONE (ON TOGGLE CLOSURE)

“CONES” : 7/8” TALL X 3/4” WIDE X 1/2” DEPTH

HEISHI SIZE: GRADUATES FROM AS LARGE AS 10 MM DOWN TO 6 MM ROUND

STRAND AMOUNT: 1

HALLMARK: “WN” WITH “KIVA STEPS” ON BACK OF PENDANT

COMES GIFT BOXED

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:

Anything with a high price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement & will come insured (reflected in shipping price).. If you're not home in the day & need this shipped where it can be signed for,please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label***I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine

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PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:

I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try my hardest to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color. Please realize that all monitors are different, so the materials can look more vivid (or duller) from one computer to the next.

To give you close up photos,pictures tend to make the item look much more larger & everything is more magnified than in actuality. So to get an accurate idea of how big this is, please either check it out being worn to get a rough idea (see photos) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements above.