Arizona State Museum: Ancient and Modern Jewelry

Ancient and Modern Jewelry Highlighted in New Exhibit


The Arizona State Museum (ASM) will open a new exhibit on February 4, 2023.

Ancient—Modern: Continuity and Innovation in Southwest Native Jewelry will tell the stories of this iconic artform with more than 70 outstanding examples from the museum’s collections of ancient, historic, and contemporary jewelry.

Efforts by the region’s Indigenous peoples over millennia to adorn themselves and their loved ones, engage in trade, and express their identities, cultural beliefs and values are key topics. 

Materials, methods of manufacture, and ornamental forms will be discussed as the viewer walks through 2,000 years of the jewelry-making and wearing traditions of the Hohokam, Mogollon, Ancestral Puebloans, Hopi, Diné, Zuni, Eastern Puebloans, Tohono O’odham, and Yaqui.

Continuity will be evident throughout. Innovation will be highlighted in the works of early modernists such as Charles Loloma, and in the works of many contemporary fine artists. The exhibit will be enlivened by comments from those whose works are included.

An opening celebration will take place Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It is free and open to all.

An online version of the in-person exhibit, with expanded narratives and additional content, will be available in the coming months.