Monday – Friday
9 am to 5 pm Saturdays
(November 9 through December 21)
Just in time for the holidays, we have new jewelry! The Petite Blueberry Earrings and Brooch are our latest additions to the Silver Seasons collection, designed by Michael Michaud and handcrafted in the USA. The petite blueberries are made from cast glass, and are smaller than the lapis lazuli berries in the Blueberry Earrings.
If you are grasping for an idea this Valentine’s Day, we’ve got you covered. We have plenty of beautiful jewelry that you can find on our website.
Below are three of our most popular items. Pick one, or all three!
Heathergems Heart Pendant and Earring Set. Made in Scotland.
Lovebirds Necklet, by Odin Lonning, made in USA
Lovebirds Earrings in Sterling Silver. Designed by Tlingit Odin Lonning, made in USA.
The following description is for the artwork designed by Dorothy Napangardi, who was a Warlpiri speaking Indigenous Australian from Alice Springs. Her artwork is featured on our Women’s Dreaming pendant and Women’s Dreaming earrings.
The country associated with this Jukurrpa is Mina Mina, a place far to the west of Yuendumu, which is significant to Napangardi/Japanangka men. All of them are custodians of the Jukurrpa that created that area.
The Jukurrpa story tells of the journey of a group of women of all ages who traveled to the east gathering food, collecting “ngalyipi”, snake vine (Tinospora Smilacina) and performing ceremonies as they traveled. The women began their journey at Mina Mina where “karlangu” digging sticks emerged from the ground. Taking these implements, the women traveled east far beyond the Walpiri boundaries creating Janyinki and other sites.
The Ngalyipi vine grows up the trunks and limbs of the “kurrkara”. (Allocasuarina Decaisneana desert oak trees.)
Ngalyipi is a sacred vine that has many uses. It can be used as a ceremonial wrap, as a strap to carry “parrajas” — wooden bowls that are laden with bush tucker — and as a tourniquet for headaches.
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We are pleased to feature an additional artist in the Occulture line.
Julie Nangala Robertson is one of five daughters born in Yuendumu in 1973 to well-known Telstra Award winning artist, Dorothy Napangardi (Dec 2013). Since the late 1990’s, while often in the company of her talented mother, Julie has pursued and developed a creative visual language of her own, one which consists of a fascinating blend of stylised experimentation and ancient narrative.
Usually an aerial perspective along with a more recently and established distinctive monochromatic pallette, Julie’s current paintings (which depict the topographical features of her traditional country at the site of Pirlinyanu) have become works of extraordinary optical brilliance as she alternates the size of dots throughout her work as well as building up specific shapes or reference points often repeated with overdotting.
Julie has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2007. She paints her mother’s Jukurrpa stories, stories that have been passed down to her by her mother and all the mothers before them for millennia. Her work has been included in numerous collections and exhibitions of Aboriginal Art in both Australia and overseas.
All artwork featured in the Occulture jewelry is licensed and royalties are paid directly to the individual artist. For more information about Julie Nangala Robertson and her artwork please visit warlu.com.
Water Dreaming Pendant by Julie Nangala Robertson
Water Dreaming Bracelet by Julie Nangala Robertson
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David’s Welsh heritage was proudly displayed at David Morgan. Customers in the store could look at the Welsh flag which hung over the door. Street signs and posters also decorated the walls. One sign said, in Welsh, “Drink Welsh milk, not English beer.” David was a Welsh separatist, and had many books on the topic.
This influenced David and Dorothy’s buying decisions over the years. Many Welsh items such as the Nursing Shawl are long gone. Our jewelry, however, remains. David Morgan uses the Celtic design tradition as a part of its jewelry. Many of our Celtic rings have always been available in gold. Now we are proud to say that most Celtic rings are available in white gold. Our customers have asked for this option and we are now able to do it. The white gold also applies to the Kalgoorie rings.
Kalgoorlie Anniversary Ring
Gold Trinity Ring
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Our Willie Creek jewelry is based on a painting by Arkeria Rose Armstrong. Arkeria is an artist from Gamilaraay, (an area in New South Wales and Southern Queensland.) She was born in Ceduna, South Australia in 1988.
Art has always been a part of Arkeria’s life. Her middle name comes from her late grandmother Rose Fernando. Rose was a Gamilaraay Elder and one of the last sand painters in northern New South Wales and her special nickname for Arkeria was “Lilly-Rose”. She had a significant influence on Arkeria, both in her daily life and now years later in her art.
Arkeria credits her grandmother and her mother for encouraging her to develop a strong connection to culture and a strong personal identity. From the age of 7 to 18 years Arkeria travelled and lived in outback Australia with her family due to her father’s job as a gold prospector. “Having the time to learn in quiet spaces in some of Australia’s most picturesque country was a blessing”, Arkeria says of the experience.
Painting with acrylic allows Arkeria to use a range of colours which represents her country, the stories and the knowledge. Her grandfather, Don Briggs, a Yorta Yorta Elder is another person who strongly influences her. Don is also an artist and he has taken on a mentoring role with her as well as supporting her to have confidence to paint “her way”.
Arkeria currently resides in Bendigo, Victoria.
Willie Creek Necklace
Willie Creek Bracelet
Willie Creek Earrings
Source: Aboriginal Art Australia
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Bolo Ties for Groomsmen
We recently made a set of five bolo ties for the groomsmen in a wedding. Bolo ties are often seen as a western accessory, but in this case, the slides featured the Immortal Strength design, which is part of our Celtic collection.
Looking closely, you can see the Triskele in the center, which symbolizes not only the Trinity, but also the mind, body and spirit. Surrounding the Triskele are four knotted symbols. In many ancient philosophies, the number four represents the physical world. Three and four combined is often the unification of spirit and matter. It is through this unity that strength emerges. What a marvelous symbol for a wedding!
Immortal Strength Bolo Slide
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There is good news for sea turtles. A comprehensive study of sea turtle nests around the world found a significant increase in turtle numbers. Over the past 16 years, counts were taken at sites that included Australia, Africa, Asia and North and South America. Scientists studied 299 nesting areas and found significant increases at 95 sites and decreases at 35 sites. It is a success story for conservation efforts.
The reasons for the increase includes the protection of eggs, females and a reduced bycatch. There is still much to worry about, however. There are still decreases in some areas, and some of the traditional nesting sites are disappearing.
You can read the whole article here.
Sea Turtle Necklet, Sterling Silver. Designed by Cavin Richie, made in USA.
Sea Turtle Earrings, Bronze. Designed by Cavin Richie, made in USA
July 1st celebrates the repeal of Proscription. In 1746, after the Battle of Culloden, the Parliament of Great Britain enacted Proscription to assimilate the Scottish Highlands. The Dress Act was part of this Act and made wearing the Highland Dress illegal. No Scot was allowed to wear their clan’s tartan or kilt. Over thirty years later, on July 1st 1782, the Proscription Act was repealed and Scots could once again display their tartans.
If you have Scottish ancestry, this is your day to proudly wear your clan’s tartan.
Pacific Northwest art has a long and vibrant history. Stretching back over ten thousand years, coastal tribes created artwork based on materials that they found locally and could trade with other tribes, such as copper and shells. When Europeans moved into the area, the artwork utilized products traded from the Europeans, including iron.
At David Morgan, our traditional jewelry has been made from patterns over a hundred years old. These traditional patterns were designed by Tlingit tribes. In the early 1900’s, Mayer Brothers, a jewelry manufacturer in Seattle, produced silver bracelets to sell to the Indians along the Pacific Northwest coast. These trade bracelets became favored items to be given away at potlatches. Production has continued to this day under a succession of manufacturing companies here in the Northwest.
Lovebirds Trade Bracelet, sterling silver. Designed by Bill Wilson, made in USA.
Pacific Northwest art continues to be vibrant and innovative today. Odin Lonning, a Tlingit from Juneau, is an award-winning artist who has designed several of our jewelry pieces, including the ever-popular Raven and the Box of Daylight.
Corrine Hunt has made a tremendous impact in the art world. She is also a Tlingit/Komoyue and a member of the Raven Gwa’wina clan. She designed the medals for the 2010 Winter Olympics. We are proud to sell items from her Spirit of the Wild collection.
Corrine Hunt Deerskin Wristlet. Spirit of the Wild Collection.
We are pleased to offer a range of trade bracelets and matching rings designed by Bill Wilson, a Tlingit raised in Hoonah, Alaska. The bracelets are struck from the original dies made in the early 1900’s for trade with the Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Typical of the early patterns, the bracelets are relatively narrow, with the design on the terminals. The bracelets and rings are available in sterling silver.
Christian White carved the argillite chess pieces of which we sell the Boma reproductions. He is a Haida from the island of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.
Please enjoy this article about Christian White from the New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/30/world/canada/totem-poles-haida-nation-british-columbia.html?_r=0
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9 am to 5 pm PT,
Monday – Friday
9 am to 5 pm Saturdays
(November 9 through December 21)
Retail Store | Sale Items
