Provenance: Private collection of renowned trader Joe Tanner, Gallup, NM. Tanner, a fourth generation Southwest Indian art dealer, has been in the business the entirety of his life. Tanner’s great-grandfather Seth Tanner and grandfather Joe built trading posts throughout the Southwest area and began trading with the Native Americans in the middle 1800's.
This ring was purchased directly from Joe and Cindy Tanner by Cecily Quintana, owner of Quintana Galleries, on a buying trip to the area in 2021. The Quintana’s and the Tanner’s were long time friends and colleagues, and the Tanner’s used to come to Portland, OR for the annual Quintana Galleries Anniversary Indian Market held in September.
Pueblo peoples began mining the Cerrillos Hills for rare blue-green turquoise and lead (galena) between A.D. 700 and 900. In the late 1880s, European and American markets gained a interest in New Mexico turquoise after the ancient mines of Persia ran low on high-grade ore. Promoted as equivalent to Persian stone, Cerrillos turquoise caught the attention of New York's Tiffany & Co., which acquired prominent local claims.
In the 1890s, modern extraction techniques boosted production significantly before deposits largely played out by the early 20th century. Today, visitors can explore the Cerrillos Hills State Park to see historic mining terrain or view authentic artifacts, tools, and local stones at the Casa Grande Trading Post and its attached Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum.
