Romero, Mike Bird Trade Bead and Sterling Silver Stylized Dragonfly Necklace

$2,400.00

Romero, Mike Bird (B. 1946)

Mike Bird Romero Sterling Silver Dragonfly Necklace with White Heart Trade Beads. This handmade necklace features five sterling silver dragonfly pendants suspended from historic white heart red trade beads, silver accents, and a single turquoise stone. Made by San Juan Pueblo jeweler Mike Bird Romero, the piece reflects traditional Native American materials and craftsmanship. Strung on waxed cord with a knotted closure.

 

Dimensions: 26″ L

Pendants measure between: 1″ L X 5/8th W to 2″ 5/8th L X 2″ 5/8th T

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This necklace by Mike Bird Romero features five handmade sterling silver stylized dragonfly pendants suspended from a strand of white heart red trade beads. Romero, a jeweler from San Juan Pueblo, began making jewelry in the 1960s. His work reflects a revival of older Native jewelry traditions, which is evident in his use of historic trade materials.

The white heart red trade beads—translucent red glass with a white core—originated in Italy and became widely used in North America by the 1600s. These beads were valued by many American Indian communities, who used them for jewelry, clothing, and ceremonial regalia. Glass was not easily available at the time, which made these imported beads highly desirable for trade and decoration.

Romero combined these historic beads with sterling silver dragonfly forms, silver accent beads, and a single turquoise stone. The necklace is strung on a waxed cord and finished with a knotted closure, reflecting both traditional technique and material history.

 

Mike Bird Romero (Ohkay Owingeh – San Juan Pueblo)
Mike Bird Romero, born in 1946 in Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo), New Mexico, is a respected self-taught jeweler known for reviving and advancing traditional Pueblo and Navajo silversmithing techniques. Drawing on both ancestral knowledge and personal research, Romero’s work is deeply rooted in history, ceremony, and material culture.

Raised in a family of artists—his grandmother Luteria Atencio was a noted potter, and his mother Lorencita Bird was a skilled weaver and educator—Romero was surrounded by creativity from an early age. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he began teaching himself jewelry-making in the late 1960s, inspired by classic Native silversmiths such as Mark Chee and Julian Lovato.

Romero is known for his dedication to traditional processes. He casts his own ingot silver, carves tufa molds by hand, and makes his own stamps and dies. His designs often include dragonflies, petroglyph-inspired forms, and antique trade beads—each piece informed by years of research and a profound respect for the past. Working closely with his wife Allison, he helped revive the dragonfly-cross pendant form and contributed to the book Heart of the Dragonfly, a study of historic Native jewelry.

In 2007, Romero was recognized as a “Living Treasure” by the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. His jewelry is held in private and public collections, including the British Museum. Each of his pieces is marked with his hallmark: two small birds, a tribute to both his family lineage and the continuity of Pueblo artistry.