Sapling & Flint
3-Tiered Trade Silver Classic Earrings
Silver ornaments through trade and gifting was abundant until about 1865, when Indigenous silversmiths began to supply the Indigenous demand more prominently. Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) silversmiths manufactured their own tools, chisels, flint drills & gravers, vises & saw blades, etc., and made use of candles & blowpipes to melt their metal. While Haudenosaunee created their unique design style to include impressions of dots & dashes, wavy lines, sun & moon in their pieces, they also saw their own worldview in the designs of European origin. The Scottish tradition of a circle brooch style was adopted and built on with the connection of many circles to make for an elaborate design that inspires this multi-tiered earring set.
This field information was collected & published by A. C. Parker in 1910, when he surmised that the artform was becoming obsolete, as few pieces were created in the 20 years previous. His suspicions never came to be, as the later 20thand 21st centuries has witnessed a renaissance of Indigenous silversmithing. Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island have a flourishing & prolific tradition of including silver and brass in their regalia. Today on the powwow trail, you will witness impressive displays of silver & brass brooches, armbands, bangles, jingle cones, headbands, belts and more.
Sapling & Flint is proud to continue the long-standing Haudenosaunee silversmithing tradition. We look forward to the Trade Silver line serving as a mainstay in our collection and will periodically contribute designs as we continue on our journey of cultural revitalization.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT: The 3-tiered Trade Silver Classic earring set are cast & high-finished in sterling silver. Each tier is connected with hand-soldered bales and finished with handmade sterling silver earring hooks. Proudly made here in Ohswé:ken Six Nations Territory. These earrings are hand stamped with our S&F trademark and with a .925 silver stamp.
Size: each trade silver round is 33mm in diameter.
weight: 2.5 grams (each) Entire set is approx. 20 grams of sterling silver
