people of the
Chaco Canyon great wealth. turquoise nose ornament.
Larco Museum Collection, Lima, Peru , the
Aztec god of fire. The Aztecs differentiated turquoise based on quality:
xihuitl, a more mundane version used for decoration such as in mosaics, and
teoxihuitl, a special version embued with qualities of
Teotl and valued for its beauty. , inlaid with turquoise,
lapis lazuli,
carnelian and coloured
glass The pastel shades of turquoise have endeared it to many great cultures of antiquity: it has adorned the rulers of
Ancient Egypt, the
Aztecs (and possibly other Pre-Columbian
Mesoamericans),
Persia,
Mesopotamia, the
Indus Valley, and to some extent in ancient
China since at least the
Shang dynasty. Despite being one of the oldest gems, probably first introduced to
Europe (through
Turkey) with other
Silk Road novelties, turquoise did not become important as an ornamental stone in the West until the 14th century, following a decline in the
Roman Catholic Church's influence which allowed the use of turquoise in secular jewellery. It was apparently unknown in India until the
Mughal Empire period, and unknown in
Japan until the 18th century. A common belief shared by many of these civilizations held that turquoise possessed certain prophylactic qualities; it was thought to change colour with the wearer's health and protect him or her from untoward forces. The Aztecs viewed turquoise as an embodiment of fire and gave it properties such as heat and smokiness. They inlaid turquoise, together with
gold,
quartz,
malachite,
jet,
jade,
coral, and
shells, into provocative (and presumably ceremonial)
mosaic objects such as
masks (some with a
human skull as their base),
knives, and
shields. Natural
resins,
bitumen and
wax were used to bond the turquoise to the objects' base material; this was usually
wood, but
bone and shell were also used. Like the Aztecs, the
Pueblo,
Navajo and
Apache tribes cherished turquoise for its amuletic use; the latter tribe believe the stone to afford the
archer dead aim. In Navajo culture it is used for "a spiritual protection and blessing." Among these peoples turquoise was used in
mosaic inlay, in sculptural works, and was fashioned into toroidal beads and freeform pendants. The
Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of the
Chaco Canyon and surrounding region are believed to have prospered greatly from their production and trading of turquoise objects. The distinctive
silver jewellery produced by the Navajo and other Southwestern Native American tribes today is a rather modern development, thought to date from around 1880 as a result of European influences. In Persia, turquoise was the
de facto national stone for millennia, extensively used to decorate objects (from
turbans to
bridles),
mosques, and other important buildings both inside and out, such as the
Medresseh-i Shah Husein Mosque of
Isfahan. The Persian style and use of turquoise was later brought to
India following the establishment of the Mughal Empire there, its influence seen in high purity
gold jewellery (together with
ruby and
diamond) and in such buildings as the
Taj Mahal. Persian turquoise was often
engraved with devotional words in
Arabic script which was then inlaid with gold.
Cabochons of imported turquoise, along with coral, was (and still is) used extensively in the silver and gold jewellery of
Tibet and
Mongolia, where a greener hue is said to be preferred. Most of the pieces made today, with turquoise usually roughly polished into irregular cabochons set simply in silver, are meant for inexpensive export to Western markets and are probably not accurate representations of the original style. The
Ancient Egyptian use of turquoise stretches back as far as the
First Dynasty and possibly earlier; however, probably the most well-known pieces incorporating the gem are those recovered from
Tutankhamun's tomb, most notably the
Pharaoh's iconic burial mask which was liberally inlaid with the stone. It also adorned
rings and great sweeping
necklaces called
pectorals. Set in gold, the gem was fashioned into beads, used as inlay, and often carved in a
scarab motif, accompanied by
carnelian,
lapis lazuli, and in later pieces, coloured
glass. Turquoise, associated with the goddess
Hathor, was so liked by the Ancient Egyptians that it became (arguably) the first gemstone to be imitated, the fair structure created by an artificial glazed
ceramic product known as
faience. The
French conducted
archaeological excavations of Egypt from the mid-19th century through the early 20th. These excavations, including that of Tutankhamun's tomb, created great public interest in the western world, subsequently influencing jewellery,
architecture, and
art of the time. Turquoise, already favoured for its pastel shades since around 1810, was a staple of
Egyptian Revival pieces. In contemporary Western use, turquoise is most often encountered cut
en cabochon in silver rings, bracelets, often in the Native American style, or as tumbled or roughly hewn beads in chunky necklaces. Lesser material may be carved into
fetishes, such as those crafted by the
Zuni. While strong sky blues remain superior in value, mottled green and yellowish material is popular with
artisans. == Cultural associations ==