Components

*Purple spiny oyster bear with turquoise heart line by Zuni artist Andres Quandelacy
*Abalone fish by Zuni artist Daryl Shack, Sr. (on the back of the necklace)
*Spiny oyster and turquoise beads
*Sterling and Thai silver beads, sterling findings, sterling leverbacks
*Necklace is signed, numbered, dated

Length: 27.5" - 31" (69.5 cm - 79 cm) Shown on model at shortest length
Bear: 1.5" wide (4 cm)
Weight: 2.2 oz (63 gm)

Earring drop length: 1" (2.5 cm)
Earring weight: 1.6 gm ea (a nickel weighs about 5 gm)

Item #590. Spiny Mini Bear Necklace and Earrings (set) - SOLD

Spiny Mini Bear Necklace and Earrings

Spiny Mini Bear Necklace
Spiny Mini Bear Necklace Detail
Spiny Mini Bear Necklace Back
Spiny Mini Bear Necklace on model
Spiny Mini Bear Earrings
Spiny Mini Bear Necklace
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We have discussed bears so many times, can there be more to say? Absolutely! We have not begun to plumb the mystery that is bear. Since this is the tiniest bear carving I've used, perhaps we should use its concentrated power to discuss the largest bears known. The colored side of the bear carving resembles a grizzly. Occasionally huge male grizzly bears are found weighing up to 1,500 lbs(!). You have likely seen the email about the giant man-eating grizzly which circulates every once in a while, but it turns out that email is only partly true. Apparently that poor creature had not eaten any hikers, was not as tall as described and, although it approached the man who killed it and got as close as 10' away, it was not acting aggressively. (Of course walking up to within 10' of a human could easily have been interpreted as aggressive behavior by the person involved.)

Our California state flag displays a now extinct Golden Grizzly, a distinct subspecies of the grizzly. The largest recorded Golden weighed 2,200 pounds, it was killed in 1866 in Valley Center, right here in San Diego County. The last Golden was killed in 1922. The loss of any species is an unimaginable tragedy and today we are driving as many as 100 or 200 species extinct every day. Many people will say that many of those extinctions are invertebrates and plants, so what? How I wish they, and our political leaders worldwide, had the tiniest inkling of how the vast living web of life is interconnected and interdependent. We meddle with and destroy this perfection at our peril. I would like to turn this essay into a tirade about the insanity of GMOs and other destructive horrors but I will spare both of us.

The largest land carnivore and largest bear titles usually go to the threatened polar bear, depicted on the opposite side of this carving. I had a hiking buddy who used to say, "The only things on the ice are polar bears and lunch" which probably describes their behavior rather well. Males of this relative of the grizzly sometimes reach 1,500 pounds, females are much smaller. Wiki notes, "For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures." I wish we had time to explore the Arctic traditions... perhaps this little bear will fuel your interest?

The tiny bear in this necklace is carved from spiny oyster, the white side is the inner side of the shell. The strand of tiny beads that holds the bear has the most amazing collection of spiny beads I have ever seen. The color range, wonderful shapes, and beautiful cut and polish make them extraordinary. The upper strand is a matched set of beautiful spiny beads which match the color of the bear amazingly well. This little bear is carved in medicine bear pose, with his nose to the ground, seeking medicinal herbs. Won't you give him a home?