19" Hand-rolled Kewa Pueblo Necklace

Deanna Tenorio from Kewa Pueblo hand-rolled this necklace out of heishi, melon shell, catlinite, blue turquoise and jet.  The closure is sterling silver hook and eye.  To make it, she chipped out each piece, drilled a hole through each chip of stone or shell, strung the chips on a wire and then rolled, and rolled, and rolled them until they are all the same width.  There is nothing quite like hand-rolled Kewa beads!  More about them below.

Size: 19" in length

Hand-rolled beads are made by chipping out pieces of stone or shell.  A hole is drilled into the center of each chip.  The chips are strung on a wire and rolled, and rolled, and rolled until they are all the same width.  Sometimes they are graduated – a difficult task!  They are then polished until smooth.  There are hand-rolled necklaces from Kewa Pueblo that are over a thousand years old.  In the “old days”, the holes were drilled with a hand-pump drill, strung on handmade string, and rolled on sandstone.   There is nothing quite like hand-rolled Kewa beads!