Native American Jewelry – Kim & Pat Messier's Blog

Thunderbird Style

The Patania’s shops in Santa Fe and Tucson were the training ground for a stunning array of Native American silversmiths

This article was originally published in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Native American Art Magazine. It is an adaptation of Chapter 7 of Legendary Patania Jewelry.

In 1927 Italian immigrant Frank Patania Sr. opened the Thunderbird Shop in Santa Fe which sold Native American handmade arts and crafts. Patania, a trained goldsmith and fine jewelry designer, had become enamored with Native American jewelry. He quickly turned his talents to designing and fabricating sterling silver and turquoise jewelry inspired by Native designs, developing a new type of Southwest jewelry, termed “Thunderbird style” which combined Mediterranean elegance with traditional Native American materials. He became known for his exquisite craftsmanship and unique jewelry designs which displayed great attention to detail.

As his business grew, Patania required assistance in the workshop and in 1932 hired Charles Begay, a skilled Navajo silversmith. He became the first of many Native Americans to work for the Patanias as silversmiths in the Thunderbird Shop in Santa Fe, and later also in Tucson. Some of these artists remained employed until retirement, while others, after becoming versed in the Thunderbird style, departed to work on their own, carrying with them the influence and inspiration of Patania family designs. Those who carried the Thunderbird style into their own successful careers were Lewis Lomay, Julian Lovato, Jimmie Herald and Harry Sakyesva, whose talents and body of work still resonate long after their passing.

*1940s fabricated sterling silver butterfly pins with detailed stampwork; this butterfly design was only made by the Native American silversmiths working at the Thunderbird Shop. Authors’ collection.*

Lewis Lomay (Hopi), from Oraibi, enrolled in Santa Fe Indian School about 1932 where he attended the silversmithing class taught by Navajo artist Ambrose Roanhorse. In 1934 Lomay arrived in Santa Fe too late to enroll for the fall term, instead he found employment at the Thunderbird Shop where his friend Waldo Mootzka was working. Mootzka, also from Hopi, was known primarily as a painter but worked for Patania as a silversmith until his death in 1938.

Sterling silver and turquoise pin fabricated in the late 1930s, signed with the Thunderbird Shop mark and L.L., which is Lewis Lomay’s (Hopi) personal hallmark. The inclusion of Lomay’s initials is unusual, typically shop smiths did not apply their personal hallmark to pieces they made while working in the Thunderbird Shop. Courtesy Gloria Dollar, Nila Brown photographer.

Lomay was taught fine jewelry techniques by Frank Patania Sr. and later recalled, “Working with Patania I learned about modern jewelry and how to finish pieces in any metal as perfectly as they did in gold.” After the United States entered World War II, Lomay left the Thunderbird Shop to work in the defense industry. Returning to Santa Fe after the war, Lomay embarked on his own career making jewelry from a studio in his home. He entered pieces in fairs and exhibits and quickly built a reputation as a master of his craft and, by 1947, was winning multiple awards whenever he entered competitions.

Patania influenced design pin and bolo tie made by Lewis Lomay (Hopi), after he was no longer working at the Thunderbird Shop. *Authors’ collection.*

Through the following decades, his jewelry was represented by notable southwest galleries, such as Shop of the Rainbow Man in Santa Fe. His jewelry reflected the influence of the designs he absorbed from his years working at the Thunderbird Shop; his pieces were carefully and painstakingly made with a fresh and imaginative beauty. Throughout his career, Lomay combined traditional Hopi designs with new ideas and modern techniques in silver and gold.

Lewis Lomay (Hopi) created this floral spray pin with turquoise and coral settings. He gained experience making this type of design from working with Frank Patania Sr. at the Thunderbird Shop. Authors’ collection.

Julian Lovato was born at Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) in 1925 into a family of jewelry makers and as a child he observed his father and grandfather create silver and turquoise jewelry. In his teens he started making jewelry on his own, but enlisted in the Army in 1944 and served in the Philippines during World War II. Upon returning to New Mexico, he married Marie Oyengue of San Juan Pueblo in 1946 and the couple moved to Santa Fe.

Lovato worked as a silversmith in various Santa Fe shops for a number of years, until 1952 when he was hired by Frank Patania Sr. to work in the Thunderbird Shop. Julian was assigned the work bench next to Frank Patania Jr., who later recounted that he learned some soldering techniques from Julian who was already well-trained in Native American traditional designs and techniques when he was hired. Julian easily adapted to working in the Thunderbird style.

Sterling silver and turquoise belt buckle and monogrammed letter opener by Julian Lovato (Kewa Pueblo). Lovato’s clean, elegant creations were influenced by designs he worked with at the Thunderbird Shop. Authors’ collection.

Patania Sr. introduced Lovato to new techniques and modern jewelry designs that influenced his career, also teaching him to initially sketch his ideas on paper. Lovato worked all day in the shop and then during the evening at home he spent hours in his own workshop, refining his talent. He had become the Santa Fe shop’s chief silversmith when Frank Patania Sr. passed away in 1964.

When the Patania family closed the Santa Fe shop at the end of 1964, manager John Wheeler bestowed the Santa Fe Thunderbird Shop hallmark die upon Lovato, and Patania’s widow Aurora gave him permission to use the stamp on his work. Julian Lovato became known as “Keeper of the Thunderbird,” and was proud to be able to incorporate that mark with his own hallmark.

No one was better at adapting Patania designs and making them uniquely theirs than was Julian Lovato (Kewa Pueblo). This coral and silver necklace and earring set exemplifies the best of Lovato’s designs. The pendant hangs from one of Marie Lovato’s dot-and-dash chains. Courtesy White collection.

In 1991 Lovato recalled, “Frank Patania was just like a father. That’s where I began to get the idea that if I concentrate and work hard, I can do it. He helped me develop into what I do.” Lovato moved back to Santo Domingo Pueblo and worked on his own, creating his own unique jewelry designs and built a very successful career.

Lovato’s contemporary style utilized clean, elegant lines with layers of materials that he referred to as “raised” or “dimensional,” a technique he learned from Frank Patania Sr. He designed his pieces around the shape of the setting and was able to work the bezel in such a way that the gemstone or coral settings appeared to float above the surface of the piece. His wife Marie worked with him, and while Julian designed and fashioned the jewelry, she did some of the more intricate finishing of pieces. Marie was also well known for her modern design dot-and-dash necklace chains, adapted from a Patania design.

Harry Sakyesva, born in 1922 at the Hopi village of Hotevilla, was hired by Frank Patania Sr. in 1952 to work as a silversmith in the Thunderbird Shop. Prior to that he graduated from Santa Fe Indian School and received treatment in an Albuquerque sanatorium between 1941 and 1945 for a lung disease. Afterwards, he moved to Santa Fe where he painted depictions of Hopi life for various galleries.

Harry Sakyesva (Hopi) crafted this bolo tie with the Valley National Bank logo in the 1960s. He would have become experienced in cutting out letters while making monogrammed pieces at the Thunderbird Shop in the 1950s. Authors’ collection.

While employed by the Patanias, Sakyesva’s summers were spent working in the Santa Fe shop. During the winter months he moved to Tucson to work, where he was frequently seated at the bench set up in the display window. Frank Patania Jr. remembers Sakyesva worked for them for five or six years and during that time was in treatment periodically at the Indian Hospital.

After leaving the Thunderbird Shop, Sakyesva relocated to the Phoenix area where he opened his own silver shop in Scottsdale in 1961 with his Hopi friend Morris Robinson, where for a few years they made “fine custom-made Hopi overlay” jewelry. He also made commissioned custom designs that were heavily influenced by monogram work he would have learned from the Patanias.

Jimmie Herald’s employment by the Patania family occurred by chance. He was born into a family of silversmiths in 1914 on the Navajo Reservation near Gallup, New Mexico. He was educated at the government boarding school at Crown Point. Having learned basic silversmithing skills from being around his family, he had no desire to work as a silversmith, but fate intervened.

Herald offered to drive a friend to Tucson in 1938 where he ran out of money before he could return home. Since silversmithing was what he knew, Herald went to the Thunderbird Shop and asked for work. Frank Patania Sr. told him that if he wanted to be a good silversmith, then he would train him; inevitably Jimmie became one of the most valuable silversmiths at the Thunderbird Shop, and was trusted to work on the most important pieces.

Navajo style squash blossom necklace set with Morenci turquoise crafted by Jimmie Herald, Navajo, while working at the Thunderbird Shop in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Patania’s design influence can be seen in the construction of the blossoms. Courtesy Patania collection.

During World War II Jimmie Herald served in the Army, after returning to Tucson in 1945 he married Hazel Enos, a Pima (Akimel O’odham) woman from Sacaton, and they had two children. Jimmie’s older brother Herbert Herald also worked in the Tucson shop in the 1940s and 1950s.

Jimmie later recalled something Frank Patania Sr. said to him, “It’s not how you look or what you are that means your reputation. Let your work speak for you. Always do your best.” Herald kept that thought in mind, endeavoring to always improve his work, and wanting customers to be satisfied.

*Silver and turquoise Bits of Silver design bolo tie made by Jimmie Herald, Navajo, 1970s-80s. The design was originated by Frank Patania Jr. for the Thunderbird Shop. Authors’ collection.*

In the early 1970s Jimmie retired from the Thunderbird Shop, but continued to make some jewelry on his own in his home studio. Most of the designs he used in his personal jewelry were modern and based on those he made while working for the Patanias.

*Daniel Enos Jr., of Pima (Akimel O’odham) descent, was a master silversmith who worked in the Tucson Thunderbird Shop for all three generations of the Patanias. Courtesy Patania archives.*

Daniel Enos Jr., Pima (Akimel O’odham), was the lone Native American silversmith to work for the Patanias who only made jewelry during his time as a Thunderbird employee. He was born on the Gila River Reservation in 1927, attended Presbyterian Indian Training School in Tucson as a youth, then served in the Marines during World War II.

Daniel Enos Jr., Pima (Akimel O’odham), constructed this Patania influenced sterling silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace in the 1970s. This is one the few Thunderbird Shop pieces to exhibit Dan’s personal hallmark along with shop marks. Courtesy Patania collection.

Returning to Tucson after the war, he worked as a heavy equipment driver, wheat combine operator and welder. In 1950 he was persuaded by his brother-in-law, Jimmie Herald, to learn the intricacies of silversmithing. Enos said he would try it for two weeks, and after 42 years with the Thunderbird Shop, he retired in 1992. He was a highly skilled and trusted silversmith who worked continuously in the Thunderbird style for all three generations of Patanias.

The modern designs incorporated within these artist’s creations have influenced subsequent generations of Native American silversmiths, though some may not be aware these styles and techniques originated with Patania family designs born in the Thunderbird Shop.

At the Sign of the Cart

We are frequently approached by collectors asking for assistance to identify hallmarks on Native American jewelry. Sometimes the maker is easy to identify, other times the attribution is more difficult to make. Many times the marks are unattributable as they were used by Native American or Anglo craftsmen who worked during the “boom” years of the 1970s and their identification marks were not recorded. But every so often we are challenged by an obviously old hallmark that has not previously been described or seen.

Such was the case for a hallmark shared with us recently by collector Gloria Dollar. Her tourist era pin in the shape of a deer, likely made by a Pueblo silversmith, has a hallmark on the back depicting a cart. The mark was at first a mystery, but vaguely familiar. Once the “aha” moment struck we began the required investigation to attribute this unusual hallmark. The cart hallmark reminded us of the two-wheeled ox cart, or carreta that has been the logo for a Santa Fe curio store for more than a century.

It all started with a merchant named Jake Gold. Jake left New York in 1862 and joined his father Louis Gold, along with his brothers Aaron and Abe, in Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory. The Golds became successful merchants in the city concentrating on groceries and general merchandise. However in 1880 Aaron Gold opened Gold’s Provision House on the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley, it not only offered groceries and provisions, it was also the first place “in town where Rare Specimens of Indian Pottery, ancient and modern” were on display. By 1883 the store was managed by Aaron’s youngest brother Jake, who acquired the business from Aaron the same year and changed the name to Gold’s Free Museum which could be found at the “Sign of Indian Cart” on San Francisco Street. By 1893 Jake renamed the business the Old Curiosity Shop, established 1862, the year he came to Santa Fe.

*Circa 1890 photograph of Jake Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop at the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley, note the two-wheeled ox cart, or* carreta on the roof.

Jake purchased the property in October 1890 and in 1893 set about improving his place of business by nearly doubling the capacity and enlarging the main sales room. Jake became the leading dealer in Santa Fe of Indian pottery and blankets, Chimayo weavings and Mexican curios, and was referred to as “The Curio Man” in the local newspaper, he had become an important component of the territorial economy. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on July 1, 1893, he, “has at least thirty men and women constantly employed at Chimayo, in the Navajo country and elsewhere manufacturing his supply of Indian and Mexican blankets. Also he has a dozen or so men on the road traveling all over New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico, gathering all manner of curios for his stock.” He was, perhaps, the first in a long line of curio dealers, or Indian traders as we know them today, who wove tall tales in order to entice buyers with the rarity of their goods; in 1894 journalist Henry Russell Wray wrote that, “in this shop of Jake’s you can purchase the last pair of trousers worn by Columbus, the sword De Soto wore, the hat of Cabeza de Vaca or the breastplate of silver worn by Cortez.”

*1894 advertisement for Jake Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop.*

But it all came crashing down in 1896 when Jake was charged with violating the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act, and was additionally charged with abandonment for leaving his wife Lizzie. To avoid prosecution, he fled to El Paso, Texas losing his business in the process. He was eventually returned to Santa Fe where he pled guilty and for which he was sentenced to a year in the territorial penitentiary, a sentence which began in January 1901. After Jake abandoned his business the property and stock were purchased by his brother Abe who continued to run it as Gold’s Old Curiosity Shop.

While in prison Jake corresponded with his friend Candelario. J.S. (Jesus Sito) Candelario was born 1864 in New Mexico and first worked in Santa Fe as a clerk for Blain Brothers who were merchants, pawnbrokers and dealers in second-hand goods. But in 1891 he launched out on his own opening a second-hand shop and advertising himself as an auctioneer and pawnbroker who “buys, sells, rents and exchanges second hand goods on Lower San Francisco Street,” in the same vicinity as Jake’s former store. This business appears to have closed by 1902.

Jake and Candelario were laying the foundation for a partnership as curio dealers and Candelario began procuring Pueblo pottery, Navajo blankets and other goods. After Jake’s return to Santa Fe, the Old Curio Shop—Jake Gold, manager, J.S. Candelario, proprietor—opened in January 1902 on San Francisco Street, a few doors to the east of the Old Curiosity Shop now owned by Abe Gold. The new partnership didn’t last long, in June 1903 Jake Gold and Candelario parted ways amicably with Jake taking over management of his brother Abe’s store. Candelario continued in business under the name the Old Curio Store, and the roof, of course, was ornamented with an old carreta.

But the death of Abe Gold in August 1903, and subsequently the demise of Jake Gold, “the original old curio man,” in December 1905 left J.S. Candelario as the most prominent curio dealer in Santa Fe. Candelario quickly assumed the role of “The Curio Man” and renamed his shop the Original Old Curio Store, advertised as the biggest curio store in the west, at 301-303 San Francisco Street, “Look for the Old Mexican Cart.”

*J.S. Candelario’s the Original Old Curio Store at 301-303 San Francisco Street with a two-wheeled ox cart, or carreta displayed* *on the roof.*

*Postcard published by J.S. Candelario around 1910.*

The Original Old Curio Store was photographed around 1910 during a snow storm in Santa Fe. Jake Gold’s original shop at the corner of San Francisco Street and Burro Alley can be seen a few doors to the left of Candelario’s.

He claimed to be the largest wholesale and retail dealer in genuine Indian and Mexican goods in the United States and maintained that he was the only native-born curio dealer in the Rocky Mountain district. Candelario’s shop became a must-see for visitors to Santa Fe, attracting the curious and the famous alike including Sinclair Lewis, William Jennings Bryan and President Theodore Roosevelt. Besides thousands of curios offered for sale, comprising Indian blankets, baskets, pottery, drawn work, and turquoise from his own mine near Cerrillos, he also publicized his collection of relics accumulated over the years that were emphatically not for sale. These included the oldest bell in America cast in 1330, a suit of clothes said to have been worn by a man when killed by lightning and a silver spur said to have been worn by Emperor Maximilian on his last horseback ride. His assertion that the business was established in 1603 was as large a fabrication as was the rarity of his relics.

*Postcard published by J.S. Candelario, looking towards Saint Francis Cathedral, the Original Old Curio Shop can be seen on the left, the north side of San Francisco Street.*

*Circa 1925 business card for J.S. Candelario.*

Upon Candelario’s death on July 30, 1938 the Santa Fe New Mexican proclaimed him, “one of the most prominent curio dealers and property owners in the entire Southwest.” The store had closed the year prior after J.S. suffered a heart attack. His grandson (and adopted son as well), and sole heir, John S. Candelario (1916-1993) inherited his grandfather’s estate and reopened the store in December 1938 telling the newspaper, “the policies will remain the same as those of my grandfather. Many items and famous collections will not be for sale, although we are glad to have our many friends and customers come in and view them.”

*December 1938 ad for the Original Old Curio Store.*

John was becoming a well-known photographer and left the day-to-day operations of the Original Old Curio Store in the hands of various managers. Shortly after the end of World War II a partial collapse of the roof necessitated extensive renovations, and the newspaper article announcing the reopening, dated April 4, 1946, also described additional business ventures that John was associated with:

Adjoining the store and offices is the workshop of Santa Fe Silversmiths, Inc., of which [William C.] Euler is president, John Candelario, vice president and Wiltz Harrison, secretary/treasurer in charge of design and production. At present eight Indian and several Spanish-Americans are employed. The Native boys are learning to work in copper since if work is defective then the metal can easily be reused. Two of these are veterans who were in the war, and will be able to learn the craft in cooperation with the rehabilitation service. Of the Indians there are three Navajos, two San Juans, a Domingo, an Isleta and a Cochiti woman. In concentrating on hand-made jewelry as against machined output Euler said the firm is using the initials “S.F.S.” as a hallmark. Candelario’s is also a member of the United Indian Traders Association which last month announced its code of standards for hand made Navajo and Pueblo jewelry as a protection to the public.
Santa Fe New Mexican, April 4, 1946

John must have grown weary of the curio business, on May 21, 1947 he sold the Original Old Curio Store to local merchants Dan Taichert and Al Thorwaldsen. The shop and property have passed through a number of hands since 1947, but continues in operation as the Original Trading Post, now displaying a metal carreta on the roof.

Now, considering the hallmark on the back of Gloria Dollar’s pin that started this entire investigation. It is obvious that the cart depicted in the hallmark is the one used for Candelario’s Original Old Curio Shop. However, Jonathan Batkin, who has thoroughly researched the business records of J. S. Candelario, said via personal communication, that he “never found evidence that ‘Indian style’ jewelry was made while he [Candelario] ran the shop.” The style of the pin is typical of late 1930s Native American silver jewelry made for the tourist trade. That leads us to believe the mark was used between 1939-1946 during John Candelario’s ownership of the business. But, as always, our attribution is open to more research.

Much of the history about Jake Gold and J.S. Candelario is derived from Jonathan Batkin’s research, especially from his 2008 publication The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico, supplemented by personal communications and historic newspaper articles.

A Bracelet with a Story to Tell

We have often stated, and even wrote in our introduction to Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry, that sometimes more can be discerned from the back of a piece of antique American Indian jewelry than from the front.

*Silver ridge bracelet ca. 1938.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

This modest ridge bracelet, now in the collection of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, is the epitome of that statement. The underside reveals a fascinating aspect of the establishment of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) silver stamping program. For an overview of the program see our previous blog Indian Arts and Crafts Board Silver Stamping Program 1938-1943.

*The underside of the bracelet reveals a multitude of hallmark stamps that were tested by Ambrose Roanhorse and Kenneth Chapman for the IACB silver stamping program.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

Kenneth M. Chapman of the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe was appointed as special consultant to the IACB and assumed responsibility for the silver stamping program. He was assigned the task of developing the inspection and identification criteria for finished Native American jewelry pieces that, after thorough examination, would be hallmarked to certify that the piece was hand made to strict standards set down by the government. His biggest challenge was to find a way to apply marks to finished jewelry pieces. Identification marks, or hallmarks, are typically applied by Native silversmiths while the jewelry piece is under construction to avoid damaging the finished product.

The specifications for the stamps were set down on April 2, 1937 when Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes approved the “Regulations for Use of Government Mark on Navajo, Pueblo and Hopi Silver” which had been drafted by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board on March 10. Among the eight regulations were,

All dies used to mark silver will be provided by and owned by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
Dies are marked with name of tribe. A Navajo stamp will be used where the maker is a Navajo Indian; similarily, for Zuni, Hopi and Rio Grande Pueblo.
All dies will be numbered, and each wholesaler or dealer will be held responsible for any violation of standards in silver that bears his mark.

With these specifications in mind Chapman labored to design the marking dies. According to Chapman biographers Janet Chapman and Karen Barrie, “He naturally thought about the mark as a design element.” He considered including Native symbolism to the marks and, “toyed with a mini-squash blossom and crescent” for the Navajo stamp, but none of that transpired.

In early December 1937 Chapman received a shipment of steel dies to test in preparation for the beginning of the program. He visited the workshop of Navajo silversmith Ambrose Roanhorse—teacher at Santa Fe Indian School who would be enlisted to help stamp the approved pieces—to have Roanhorse experiment with the marking dies. Some of the dies broke and on the whole Chapman found them inferior and useless. On top of it all, the bracelet dies were too large, and the U.S. NAVAJO die damaged the bracelet they used for testing.

*Damage, circled in red, to the front of the bracelet caused by the first U.S. NAVAJO die.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

The large US NAVAJO stamp that damaged the front of the bracelet is shown in the center with the number 10 and an eagle design. Among other stamps that can be seen are various sizes of the same dies plus STERLING, and GA 23. It is unknown what GA 23 may have stood for. Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

*Close up of the eagle stamp that was applied at the end of U.S. NAVAJO 10. This design resembles the eagle used for the National Recovery Act, it was never used on government approved silver.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

Examining the markings on the test bracelet it can be seen that many different dies were experimented with. But in early March 1938 Rene d’Harnoncourt, general manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, ordered a new set of four flat punch dies from William A. Force Company in New York. The set consisted of U.S. NAVAJO, U.S. R.G. PUEBLO, U.S. ZUNI and U.S. HOPI along with ten number dies, from 1 to 0. A few weeks later the completed dies were mailed to Kenneth Chapman in Santa Fe.

*The final versions of U.S. HOPI, U.S. ZUNI and U.S. NAVAJO stamps that were accepted for use on government approved Native American made silver. The stamp for Hopi was never used.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

*Close up of U.S. R.G. PUEBLO stamp that was never used during the duration of the program.* Courtesy Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 2008.11.001, Gift of Thomas and Deborah Begner.

These were smaller dies that were ultimately approved and used during the life of the program, from April 5, 1938 when Ambrose Roanhorse marked the first inspected pieces of silver until sometime in 1943 when interest in the program waned. Even though dies were made for Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and Rio Grande Pueblo, Chapman only recorded that the Navajo and Zuni dies were ever applied to any government approved jewelry.

The path this bracelet took from Kenneth Chapman’s hands to the Wheelwright will never fully be known. But it was rescued from obscurity by Thomas and Deborah Begner, owners of Turkey Mountain Traders in Scottsdale, when they purchased it on eBay and donated it to the Wheelwright. In the end this important piece of history is now back in Santa Fe where it originated.

We are grateful to Jonathan Batkin, retired director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian for granting us permission to tell this story before his retirement. We also thank Karen Barrie for graciously sharing her research into Kenneth M. Chapman including documents she obtained from the National Archives.

All photographs are by the authors.

References

Jonathan Batkin, The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico, Wheelright Museum of the American Indian, 2008.

Jonathan Batkin, personal communication March 4, 2020.

Janet Chapman and Karen Barrie, Kenneth Milton Chapman: A Life Dedicated to Indian Arts and Artists, University of New Mexico, 2008.

Karen Barrie, personal communication, May 2010.

United States Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Reports and Documents Concerning the Activities of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, December 1, 1943.

Our Exciting New Project

In April 2020 we were approached by the Patania family to write a history of the Thunderbird Shops located in Santa Fe and Tucson. Not only are we honored to have been asked, we’re excited to take this on as our next project.

Having delved into a bit of the history of the Thunderbird Shop, especially the hallmarks used there, in Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry, we are somewhat familiar with the story we are tasked to tell.

But having access to Frank Jr, Sam and the family archives means we can convey the legacy of three generations of Patania artisans to its fullest.

Please excuse us during this time for the lack of new content here, but every spare minute is being devoted to photography, research and writing in an effort to have the Patania book in collector’s hands as soon as possible.

Indian Arts and Crafts Board Silver Stamping Program 1938-1943

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), an agency of the Department of the Interior, was formally established in 1936 to aid in the revitalization and promotion of traditional Native American arts. The preservation of traditional southwest Indian silverwork was one of the most urgent issues to be addressed by the board.

Bracelets (1938–1943), all marked U.S.NAVAJO by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. The designating numbers were 4 for Fred Harvey Company (top); 40 for Fort Wingate Indian School (far left and bottom right); and 2 for C. G. Wallace (second from left front and far right).

Competition from machine manufactured Indian-design jewelry, such as was made by Maisel’s, Bell Trading Post, H.H. Tammen, etc, was making it nearly impossible for individual Indian silversmiths to make a living. A series of meetings held by the board resulted in a program by which genuine handmade Navajo, Pueblo, and Hopi silver could obtain a stamp of authenticity from the government. An announcement, made in March 1937, set forth the standards by which jewelry could qualify for the stamp, and that the stamp “should be applied only to the finest quality of wholly genuine, truly hand-fashioned and authentic Indian silver and turquoise products.”

*Two silver pins, both stamped with Indian Arts and Crafts Board mark U.S.NAVAJO 60, indicating they were made at the Santa Fe Indian School, 1938–1943.*

The IACB silver stamping program has been examined at length by Jonathan Batkin in his excellent book The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico. Batkin explains how this program adopted hallmarks that were stamped on silver individually produced and entirely handmade (no power-driven machinery could be used) from silver slugs hammered to shape; the turquoise also had to be genuine, untreated, and cut and polished by hand.

Two silver bracelets and a small buckle, all stamped with Indian Arts and Crafts Board mark U.S.NAVAJO 40, indicating they were made at Fort Wingate Indian School, 1938–1943.

Only an agent of the IACB could determine which silver complied with the standards and therefore could receive the government mark. No jewelry with tourist-type designs, such as arrow stamps, were eligible to receive the hallmark. C. G. Wallace had a bracelet with such stamps rejected. But silver made by casting in an individual tufa mold was approved to receive the government stamp, as evidenced by a cast bracelet by Juan De Dios marked with U.S.ZUNI 1.

Four bracelets with Indian Arts and Crafts Board marks, 1938–1943. Top cast bracelet with mark U.S.ZUNI 1 assigned to C. G. Wallace; bottom left marked U.S.NAVAJO 5 for Kelsey Trading or Pueblo Indian Arts and Crafts; middle and far right U.S.NAVAJO 1 for Gallup Mercantile.

Kenneth Chapman, curator of the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, and a respected authority on southwest Indian arts, assumed responsibility as special agent for the silver program. It was Chapman who developed the marking system for approved silver, spending months in research until he and Ambrose Roanhorse, a well-respected Navajo silversmith who taught at the Santa Fe Indian School, settled on the small dies that were eventually put into service.

The marks included the letters “U.S.” and then the tribal identification, NAVAJO, ZUNI, HOPI, and RGPUEBLO (for Rio Grande Pueblo) followed by a number identifying the participating trader, wholesaler, or federal Indian school. Stamps were designed and made for HOPI and RGPUEBLO, but apparently never used, possibly because there were no interested traders who employed Pueblo or Hopi smiths.

Three pieces of silver made at Albuquerque Indian School and stamped with U.S. NAVAJO 50 exhibit additional stamped numbers not seen on other pieces stamped by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Each piece possesses a different number, suggesting the numbers were assigned to each student in the silversmithing class. The AS in front of two of the numbers (AS 195 and AS 40) could possibly designate “Albuquerque School.”

Chiseled ingot silver pin marked U.S. NAVAJO 50 made at Albuquerque Indian School includes the stamped number AS 195 on the reverse, likely indicating Albuquerque School and the student that made the piece. Courtesy Gloria Dollar.

US Navajo 50 pin with additional hallmark AS 40. — *Fabricated pin with small turquoise setting marked U.S. NAVAJO 50 made at Albuquerque Indian School includes the stamped number AS 40 on the reverse, likely indicating* Albuquerque School and the student that made the piece. Courtesy Gloria Dollar.

*Cast bracelet marked U.S. NAVAJO 50 made at Albuquerque Indian School includes the stamped number 177 on the reverse, likely indicating the student that made the piece.* Courtesy Gloria Dollar.

Ambrose Roanhorse was responsible for applying the stamp to approved pieces, and later Dooley Shorty, the silversmithing teacher at Fort Wingate Indian School, also did some marking of approved silver.

The first numbers were assigned and stamped under Chapman’s supervision on April 5, 1938, in Santa Fe. Chapman and Roanhorse then traveled throughout New Mexico to stamp the silver held in anticipation of the start of the program. After three weeks, Chapman estimated that 4,000 pieces were examined in the first batches of silver with 2,322 qualifying for the stamp.

Response to the program was mixed. C. G. Wallace was enthusiastic and sent many pieces of silver for marking during the life of the program. On the other hand, Herman Schweizer was cautious about the objectives of the program but still submitted some of the first articles stamped in April 1938, thinking the Harvey Company should be in on the ground floor.

These two silver pins were stamped by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board with U.S.NAVAJO 2, indicating they were made for C. G. Wallace, 1938–1943. Bottom pin also includes unknown artist’s hallmark of curved arrow.

Complaints arose quickly. Traders and silversmiths were concerned that the rules were too stringent. Even C. G. Wallace, the program’s biggest supporter, complained to Chapman that he had to put a man on the road to try to sell the stamped silver because his biggest clients, the Fred Harvey Company and the Gallup wholesale houses, had turned their backs on Wallace’s government-stamped jewelry.

Schweizer’s support of the program was short lived, and he quickly concluded it was a failure. He told Chapman the IACB had not advertised the program as promised, and the traveling public knew nothing about it. When tourists were shown the marked silver they became suspicious of the unmarked silver in the store. Schweizer ceased selling government-stamped silver by late 1938.

Two silver pins stamped with Indian Arts and Crafts Board mark U.S.NAVAJO 70, designating they were made for the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild, 1940–1943. This number was originally assigned by Chapman in March 1940.

Number Designations for IACB Hallmarks

No. Trader or School Location

U.S.Navajo

1 Gallup Mercantile Company Gallup, NM

2 C. G. Wallace Zuni, NM

3 Berton I. Staples, Crafts del Navajo Coolidge, NM

4 Fred Harvey Company Albuquerque, NM

5* Kelsey Trading CompanyZuni, NM

Pueblo Indian Arts & Craft MarketAlbuquerque, NM

6 Zuni Trading Post (Robert Wallace) Zuni, NM

10 Tuba City Indian School Tuba City, AZ

11 Drolet’s Trading Post (J. M. Drolet) Naschitti, NM

20 Shiprock Indian School Shiprock, AZ

30 Crownpoint Indian School Crownpoint, NM

40 Fort Wingate Indian School Fort Wingate, NM

50 Albuquerque Indian School Albuquerque, NM

60 Santa Fe Indian School Santa Fe, NM

70 Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild Fort Wingate, NM

U.S.Zuni

1 C. G. Wallace Zuni, NM

4 Fred Harvey Company Albuquerque, NM

5* Kelsey Trading Company Zuni, NM

Pueblo Indian Arts & Craft Market Albuquerque, NM

6 Zuni Trading Post (Robert Wallace) Zuni, NM

11 Gallup Mercantile Company Gallup, NM

*It appears the numbers U.S.NAVAJO 5 and U.S.ZUNI 5 were reassigned in 1941. Kelsey Trading Company in Zuni was originally assigned those numbers and had 170 pieces stamped in April 1938. Kelsey must have stepped away from the program because Chapman notes on June 10, 1941, that he marked 36 pieces U.S.ZUNI 5 and thirteen pieces U.S.NAVAJO 5 received from the Pueblo Indian Arts & Crafts Market.

He Wants to be Called William Goodluck

Cover of Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

The cover of our newest release, Garden of the Gods Trading Post, shows Navajo silversmith William Goodluck and members of his family sitting on the porch of the Trading Post in 1929. The cover utilizes about half of the original postcard as seen in the below image.

Entire image of postcard of William Goodluck and family on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post that was partiallt used on the cover of the book. — Left to right, William Goodluck, son Herbert, daughter Charlotte behind a baby in a cradle board, wife Yekanasbah and daughter Elizabeth.

Goodluck came to work for Charles Strausenback during the time Charles managed “The Indian” trading post. The earliest confirmation of his employment is provided by a postcard postmarked July 16, 1927:

William Goodluck postcard 1927. — This souvenir postcard shows William Goodluck, identified by his Navajo name Host-Nat-Woty, standing near “The Indian” trading post. Mailed July 16, 1927, the sender wrote to Lelah May Hathaway, a former teacher at Carlisle Indian School, “We stopped this morning at the Garden of the Gods and there I met Wm. Goodluck who was once your pupil. He is a silversmith (Navajo). He was quite delighted to see me and told me he had been in your schoolroom. He gave me this picture to send you.”

Providing a clue to the type of jewelry Goodluck may have made while working at “The Indian” could be what he chose to wear while being photographed for the postcard above. The close-up below shows Goodluck’s arm and hand. Note the top bracelet, half hidden by his sleeve, is similar in construction to the top bracelet with the teardrop turquoise setting in the second image below.

Close up of jewelry on the arm of William Goodluck. — *A close-up view of jewelry on William Goodluck’s arm in the postcard above.*

Jewelry made at "The Indian" trading post 1924-1929. — These six silver bracelets were made between 1924 and 1929 at “The Indian” trading post by the Native American silversmiths who worked for Charles Strausenback. The bracelets are hallmarked SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE “INDIAN” GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO. The top bracelet is similar in design to one that William Goodluck wore in the photo above, so it is likely that he made that piece.

Beginning in the 1920s, William Goodluck and his family traveled to the Pikes Peak region to work during the summer months. Goodluck demonstrated silversmithing and his wife, Yekanasbah, worked as the resident Navajo rug weaver.

William Goodluck and family inside "The Indian" trading post. — *This photograph was taken inside “The Indian” trading post, where Goodluck is shown working silver while his wife, Yekanasbah, weaves at her loom and their children spin and card the wool.*

Goodluck continued his employment with Strausenback in 1929 when Charles opened his own Trading Post on the southern edge of Garden of the Gods park.

The porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children near him.

According to a Colorado Springs Gazette article dated June, 9, 1929, “Indians Transplanted to Garden of the Gods in Strausenback’s New Trading Post,”

Four adult Navajos, a Navajo baby in its carriage and a family of Santa Claras are living at the Trading Post in Indian fashion. There are two hogans where the Indians live. In the Trading Post they weave blankets, work in silver and with the Indian’s choice gem, the turquoise. Heading the redskin delegation is old Hosteen and his son, Bill Goodluck. Hosteen is one of the old types of Indian silver workers, distaining modern bench conveniences for the methods of his forefathers. Hosteen and his son were in a party of Navajos at the Buffalo Exposition [in 1901] when President McKinley, a few hours before he was the victim of an assassin, stopped to talk to the Indians. Asking them their name he caught the Navajos phrase as “good luck” and the family adopted the name thereafter.

Hand tinted postcard of William Goodluck and family at Cheyenne Lodge 1930. — *Strausenback sometimes brought William Goodluck, Yekanasbah and family to work at the Cheyenne Lodge where Strausenback managed the curio shop in 1930.*

Strausenback took a number of souvenir photographs of the Goodluck family, while they were at “The Indian” trading post and then again shortly after Garden of the Gods Trading Post opened in 1929. Goodluck continued to work for Strausenback into the 1930s.

William Goodluck and two of his children on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post in 1935. — *Photo of William Goodluck at the anvil on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post published in the* Denver Post *June 16, 1935.* Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

Hoske Nal Wooty was born about 1891 around Lupton, Arizona. He attended the Navajo Training School at Ft. Defiance from 1905-1908 and then in 1909 was enrolled at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania by his mother, Mrs. Good Luck. After enrollment it was noted in his student records that he “wants to be called Wm. Goodluck,” and Superintendent Friedman agreed he should be called by that name. His student records for the years 1909-1912 can be accessed at the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. By 1920 he added the middle name Patrick and became known as William Patrick Goodluck in official documents.

While attending Carlisle, Goodluck apprenticed as a carpenter and between terms participated in the Summer Outing Program, where jobs and boarding in local homes or businesses was arranged for students allowing them to learn labor or farm skills and interact with the white world. From 1909-1910 he worked for Amos Krusen of Newtown, Pennsylvania and from 1910-1911 he worked for Joseph P. Canby of Hulmeville.

Under the employment of Canby it was noted, “Haski seems to be well pleased with his country home. He said he did not care if he returned to Carlisle in the fall or remained out.” On July 5, 1912 it was reported that, “He is a good earnest faithful worker. He has had experience living on good farms, also in the carpenter shop. Under the proper supervision he would make a good helper to a carpenter.” But he was to follow in his famous father’s footsteps.

Though he likely learned to work silver from his father Hosteen Goodluck, the first mention of William working as a silversmith is in the Carlisle records where on February 4, 1914 it was reported that he was working at that trade in Manuelito, New Mexico.

Anthropologist John Adair reported in his book The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths that in 1938 the “Goodluck outfit” was situated near Lupton, Arizona and that Billy Goodluck made approximately $1000 working year-round, Adair considered silversmiths of that caliber to be professional. Adair also referred to William as “Billy Goodluck,” as that seems to be the name the reservation traders knew him by, consequently, William has been known as Billy ever since.

Goodluck worked silver for many decades and attained a reputation as a master silversmith, when not in Colorado he worked from his home in Arizona. John D. Kennedy describes William in his book A Good Trade: Three Generations of Life and Trading in and around Gallup, NM:

Billy Goodluck was a fine Navajo silversmith who lived twenty miles west of Gallup, near Lupton, Arizona. He would come to see me in Zuni for piecework. I would give him about 200 ounces of silver and he would return in a few weeks with finished goods. He made fine, large concho belts that were very popular trade items with Navajos, Zunis and reservation traders.

Goodluck registered for the draft on April 21, 1942 at Ft. Defiance, his place of residence was listed as Houck, Arizona, but it appears he never served in the military. In 1958 William Goodluck served as the first president of the newly formed Navajo Chapter at Lupton. He died October 1967 near his home in Lupton.

No confirmed identification hallmark has been recorded for William Goodluck. Though Barton Wright included a drawing of a comb-like hallmark in the Second Edition of Hallmarks of the Southwest, there is currently no evidence that William Goodluck used this or any other personal hallmark. However work he made while employed by Charles Strausenback would be stamped with the shop marks used at “The Indian” (SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE “INDIAN” GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO) or Garden of the Gods Trading Post (SOLID SILVER HAND MADE BY INDIANS, or the Tewa Thunderbird logo).

A biography of William’s father Hosteen Goodluck can be found at the bottom of the blog To Be (Hosteen) or Not To Be, That is the Question.

Herbert, Elizabeth and Charlotte Goodluck stand outside of "The Indian" trading post. — From left to right, Herbert, Elizabeth and Charlotte—the children of William and Yekanasbah Goodluck—stand outside the ramada where their father made silver at “The Indian” trading post. On the ground are spoons and bracelets in progress and the silversmithing tools that William used. This c. 1925 photograph was taken by Charles Strausenback for his series of advertising postcards.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog May 27, 2019.

The Metalwork of Awa Tsireh

Sepia-toned lithograph of Awa Tsireh made by Charles Strausenback ca 1930s. — *Sepia-toned lithograph of Awa Tsireh made by Charles Strausenback ca 1930s*.

San Ildefonso artist Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) is best known as an early master of Pueblo painting; but in his lifetime he also gained renown as a silversmith.

Awa Tsireh (pronounced Ah-wah Sid-ee or See-day) was born in 1898 to Juan Estevan and Alfonsita Martinez Roybal; he was the eldest of six children. He drew sketches of dances and animals even before attending San Ildefonso Day School where the teacher provided drawing supplies. He did not continue his education after leaving the day school, and his drawing and painting skills were mostly self-taught; though he also learned from watching his uncle Crescencio Martinez who used watercolors to paint dancers on paper in the mid-1910s for Edgar Lee Hewitt. As a young man Awa Tsireh (Cat-tail Bird) painted the decorations on the pottery his mother made.

Modernist painting of Deer Dancer by Awa Tsireh. — *Modernist painting of Deer Dancer by Awa Tsireh*.

In the summer of 1917 Santa Fe poet Alice Corbin Henderson was introduced to Awa Tsireh’s paintings and she became his first patron and promoter. Awa Tsireh’s fame grew nationally in the 1920s prompting a successful one-man show in Chicago; he also painted most of the illustrations for the book Tewa Firelight Tales by Ahlee James published in 1927. In 1931 Awa Tsireh joined with other San Ildefonso artists, including Maria Martinez, Tonita Roybal and Abel Sanchez (Oqwa Pi), to exhibit their works at the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York City.

Awa Tsireh’s paintings of pueblo dancers and mythology, including black-and-white striped clowns (or kossa) and animals like skunks, owls, and turkeys were meticulously and precisely drawn in both realistic and modernistic styles. Animal forms such as skunks, roadrunners, and owls were also favored subjects of his silverwork.

Silver pins made by Awa Tsireh. — *Silver pins made by Awa Tsireh* .

It is not known when or from whom Awa Tsireh learned silversmithing but by 1931 he was described in a newspaper article as a painter and, “also a mural painter, a silversmith and a dancer.”

Round copper tray by Awa Tsireh. — *Round copper tray by Awa Tsireh*.

John Adair reported in his 1944 book The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths that Awa Tsireh was only one of three men in San Ildefonso who worked silver, and that he made pieces in his studio for the tourists who visited the pueblo. However, it was at Garden of the Gods Trading Post in Colorado Springs where the majority of his metalwork was made.

Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s. — *Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s*.

Garden of the Gods Trading Post was built in 1929 by Charles E. Strausenback, and is still in operation in the same building on the southern boundary of the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs.

Postcard of Awa Tsireh dressed in Plains attire at Colorado Springs. — *Postcard of Awa Tsireh dressed in Plains attire at Colorado Springs*.

Awa Tsireh’s association with Garden of the Gods Trading Post had begun by 1930 and continued for at least two decades. His sister Santana Martinez recalled that “during the summer during the thirties and forties he used to go to a shop in Colorado Springs and do his paintings and silverwork there” (Seymour, When the Rainbow Touches Down). He was the most prominent of the many silversmiths who worked at the trading post over the decades; which included Hosteen Goodluck, William Goodluck and David Taliman.

*Copper crumb tray in the shape of a cloud made by Awa Tsireh.*

Awa Tsireh’s metalwork did not go without notice, as in 1938, when the Hutchinson, Kansas News-Herald, while reporting on the impending nuptials of a local couple, exclaimed:

Spell it Awa Tsireh—pronounce it A-Wa Si-dy! Whoever he is, he’s the Indian silversmith responsible for that symbolical silver plate which Elizabeth and Joe, to wed today, will give choice place in their household. Of about luncheon size, the plate center is beaten and etched with a god to watch over them, and filled in about and on the rim with emblems of wisdom, constancy, love and happiness. There is no other plate like it and there won’t be for the famous “Awa Sidy” never duplicates. Of New Mexico originally, he’s now collaborating with Charles E. Strausenback in a museum at the Garden of the Gods. The gorgeous silver bracelets which Elizabeth often wears are his work.

Round aluminum tray with Knifewing figure design by Awa Tsireh. — *Round aluminum tray with Knifewing figure design by Awa Tsireh*.

He split his efforts between painting and silversmithing during these years and in 1939 was commissioned to paint a mural on the front of the newly erected building to house Maisel’s Indian Trading Post in downtown Albuquerque. The trading post is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Awa Tsireh’s mural of a corn dance is still on view on the building’s facade.

Mural painted by Awa Tsireh on the front of Maisel's Indian Store in Albuquerque. — *Mural painted by Awa Tsireh on the front of Maisel’s Indian Store in Albuquerque*.

When it came to metalworking, Awa Tsireh worked in many mediums, not only in silver but also copper, nickel silver and aluminum. What has been written about Awa Tsireh’s paintings is also true of his metalwork, he was precise and meticulous and a master artist. His work shows magnificently designed and stamped elements and elegant repoussé work. He helped transform the metalwork made at Garden of the Gods from typical tourist style jewelry—with figural stamps of thunderbirds, arrows and whirling logs popular at the time— into pieces of art, most evident in the trays and pins that he produced.

Spoon, concho pin, matchbook holder, pill box and V for Victory pin all made by Awa Tsireh. — *Spoon, concho pin, matchbook holder, pill box and V for Victory pin all made by Awa Tsireh*.

Awa Tsireh made a variety of forms during his silversmithing career including bracelets, pins, rings, trays, bowls and concho belts. His work is signed AWA TSIREH and most often with one of the Garden of the Gods shop marks such as SOLID SILVER. Pieces that are only signed with his name, which are rare, were likely made at his studio in San Ildefonso. Items bearing shop marks from the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, but lacking the hallmark for Awa Tsireh, are not of the same quality of work as pieces signed with his name. Consequently, only those pieces bearing his hallmark AWA TSIREH can confidently be credited as his work.

Filed and stamped silver bracelet by Awa Tsireh. — *Filed and stamped silver bracelet by Awa Tsireh*.

His production of paintings and silverwork slowed after World War II, but Awa Tsireh continued to work. In 1954 he was awarded the French government’s Ordre des Palmes Académiques for “distinguished contributions to education or culture” along with eleven other Indian artists including Ambrose Roanhorse, Maria Martinez, Fred Kabotie, Alan Houser and Pablita Velarde.

Though he traveled fairly often, especially in summer, he always made the village of San Ildefonso his main residence. Awa Tsireh died tragically from exposure on the outskirts of San Ildefonso on March 29, 1955. He was memorialized a few months later by the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe with an exhibit of forty-three examples of his paintings.

Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s. — *Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s*.

The foregoing was derived from our book Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry: Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government, and originally published on our Goodreads.com blog June 30, 2016.

To Be (Hosteen), or Not To Be, That is the Question…

Recently the work of Navajo silversmith Hosteen Goodluck was the topic of discussion in one of the online jewelry forums. So, we proudly posted a concho (which has been converted to a belt buckle) that, when it was purchased decades ago, had been attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by trusted associates and knowledgeable dealers of Indian jewelry, including the late Jay Evetts. We were so confident of the attribution that we published the buckle in Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry as that of Hosteen Goodluck.

Concho attributed to Hosteen Goodluck as it appears on page 15 of Reassessing Hallmarks. — *Concho attributed to Hosteen Goodluck as it appears on page 15 of* Reassessing Hallmarks.

But even before that it was published on page 164 of American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies under the listing for Hosteen Goodluck:

Concho above published in American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies.

You can imagine our astonishment then when we were bluntly, and embarrassingly, made aware by those who consider themselves experts on Goodluck’s work that the buckle was definitely not made by Hosteen Goodluck. Notably, one dealer who attributed the buckle to Goodluck over 20 years ago now says they find no evidence to support that designation. Which was extremely discouraging.

To understand how our concho suddenly became the work of any other Navajo silversmith except Goodluck, we politely asked what defines Goodluck’s work; what was their source to judge his techniques, his skill, or use of design elements? None of those who proclaimed themselves extremely knowledgeable in Goodluck’s work were forthcoming with evidence why their pieces were by Goodluck, but ours wasn’t. They only pointed to work they attributed to Goodluck asking, “can’t you see the difference?” Truthfully, yes we could see the difference, but struggled with discerning how they were so certain of their conclusions.

So how would the work of Hosteen Goodluck, who died in 1937, be identified when that artist never signed his work or used a hallmark? Who can credibly attest to what Hosteen Goodluck’s silverwork looks like? Attributing silverwork made in the early part of the twentieth century, at a time when silversmith’s names were rarely attached to their work in any meaningful way, is a slippery slope without a hallmark, or some proof to back it up.

Due to the absence of clarification, we decided to do our own homework and went looking for the primary source, provenance, proof, or “smoking gun” that provided the facts for discerning the work of Hosteen Goodluck. We searched for something like a concho belt in a museum collection with solid provenance, or a photo of Goodluck hammering conchos to back up the attributions. There’s not much available online, nor in the books in our library, but we did finally find a primary resource from 1975, and it was right under our noses all along.

Sotheby Parke Bernet 1975 auction catalog for the C.G. Wallace collection of American Indian Art.

Yes, the C.G. Wallace Collection of American Indian Art catalog from the Sotheby Parke Bernet auction conducted in November 1975 has not one, not two, but six illustrated concho belts attributed to Hosteen Goodluck.

*Concho belts, numbers 59 and 61, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.*

*Numbers 387 and 389, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.*

*Concho belts 548 and 1091 attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.*

Now, it’s hard to argue with Wallace’s attributions, afterall, he was there working with the silversmiths from 1919 until 1964 or so. But it’s also difficult not to fault his memory, or record keeping, when some of his attributions in the catalog are now known to be so inaccurate. For example, two of the items attributed to Navajo silversmith Etsitty Tsosie (or Eskiesosie, Wallace’s corruption of the name), bracelet #691 and a “Zuni comb” #1141, were said to have been made in 1943 and 1955 respectively. However, Etsitty Tsosie died in 1937 and his passing made national headlines. This raises the question, are these merely typos in the catalog, or lapses in Wallace’s memory?

Number 1141 from the CG Wallace catalog.

From the Oakland Tribune June 24, 1937. — *From the* Oakland Tribune *June 24, 1937.*

To complicate matters, we recently stumbled upon a tidbit of gossip from years ago. We had always heard from old-time collectors of inconsistencies in the catalog’s attributions, but never saw any written confirmation of the rumors. The quote below is from someone who was actively collecting Zuni jewelry in 1975 and acquainted with those involved in the catalog.

Bob Ashton said when he and his wife Sharon did the catalog it took nine painful months because C.G. kept changing his mind on who made what pieces. Ashton said there are a lot of inconsistencies in that catalog.

But we digress.

So what do these six concho belts tell us about the work made by Hosteen Goodluck? If Wallace’s attributions can be trusted, then Goodluck was a silversmith with very diverse skills and techniques, because the design elements are different in each of the six belts. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find commonality in these six examples.

Was Hosteen Goodluck a master silversmith? Undoubtedly, as Ruth Falkenburg Kirk reported that by 1920 Goodluck was recognized as one of “the most expert and best known Indian smiths.”

We remain skeptical how these experts are so confident that they are the only ones who know every style of work, technique, and design element that Goodluck used, especially since they refuse to reveal their research to back-up their claims.

And, by the way, as we see it, concho belt #389 in the Wallace catalog is close enough in construction (at least from what we can see in the photograph) to actually support the earlier attribution that our concho was made by Hosteen Goodluck.

This incident exemplifies why we largely collect only hallmarked metalwork by Native American silversmiths; because a hallmark assures us of the maker of the piece and we am not dependent on some ephemeral attribution from a dealer who may, or may not, have done as much research as we have on the subject.

Hosteen Goodluck

Hosteen Goodluck was born, in what was to become the southern part of the Navajo Reservation, about 1865 and died March 26, 1937 according to the U.S. Indian Census Rolls. He was photographed June 6, 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri where he demonstrated Navajo silversmithing, Navajo Man Good Luck.

arry Frank published this 1904 image in Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930 on page 28, but was unaware the subject was silversmith Hosteen Goodluck. The silver squash blossom necklace and concho belt he wears in this image serves as excellent proof of his silversmithing skills. — *Larry Frank published this 1904 image in* Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930 on page 28, but was unaware the subject was silversmith Hosteen Goodluck. The silver squash blossom necklace and concho belt he wears in this image serves as excellent proof of his silversmithing skills.

Goodluck worked for C. G. Wallace from 1919 to 1932 according to the auction catalog, and Wallace told Dale Stuart King in 1976 (Indian Silverwork, Volume Two), “Hosteen Goodluck was making heavy stamped leaves on bracelets and belt buckles in 1919. I moved Goodluck from Houck, Arizona, to Zuni to do cast work and as die maker.”

In 1929 Goodluck traveled to Colorado Springs to work for Charles Strausenback at Garden of the Gods Trading Post, he joined his son William Goodluck, who had worked for Strausenback in the preceding summers at another nearby trading post. According to a Colorado Springs Gazette article, “Indians Transplanted to Garden of the Gods in Strausenback’s New Trading Post,” dated June, 9, 1929,

Four adult Navajos, a Navajo baby in its carriage and a family of Santa Claras are living at the Trading Post in Indian fashion. There are two hogans where the Indians live. In the Trading Post they weave blankets, work in silver and with the Indian’s choice gem, the turquoise. Heading the redskin delegation is old Hosteen and his son, Bill Goodluck. Hosteen is one of the old types of Indian silver workers, distaining modern bench conveniences for the methods of his forefathers. Hosteen and his son were in a party of Navajos at the Buffalo Exposition [September 1901] when President McKinley, a few hours before he was the victim of an assassin, stopped to talk to the Indians. Asking them their name he caught the Navajos phrase as “good luck” and the family adopted the name thereafter.

Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca. 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children around him.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog December 15, 2018.

Navajo Overlay Artist Willie Yazzie

After the success of the overlay designs made at the Hopi Guild many other silversmiths and shops incorporated overlay in their designs (see Overlay is Not Always Hopi Made). Navajo trader Dean Kirk opened his own trading post at Manuelito, New Mexico (between Gallup and the Arizona border) by January 1941. The silver work made in Dean’s shop was typically Navajo tourist type designs and hallmarked UITA22 (under the auspices of the United Indian Traders Association) until about 1951. That’s when Kirk designed a series of overlay pins to be made by Navajo smiths in his employ incorporating Hohokam and Mimbres designs. These designs proved to be very popular, as a 1958 newspaper advertisement for Enchanted Mesa in Albuquerque promoted “Dean Kirk’s Navajo Overlay Silver”. The overlay pieces made at Kirk’s shop were rarely hallmarked.

*Overlay pin featuring Hohokam pottery design made by Navajo silversmiths for trader Dean Kirk, 1950s.*

However, one of the Navajo silversmiths who worked for Dean Kirk was Willie Yazzie, he made his own hallmark and used it on pieces he made in Kirk’s shop.

*Willie Yazzie’s gourd dipper hallmark.*

Much of the following information was relayed to Alan Ferg (archivist and archaeologist at Arizona State Museum) by William P. (Willie) Yazzie, Jr, in February 2018. Ferg’s investigation of an overlay belt buckle in his possession, lacking a hallmark, has led to previously unrecorded information about Willie Yazzie, as well as the identification of an additional hallmark used by the artist.

Willie Yazzie made the overlay bolo at Dean Kirk’s shop, it includes a deer and stylized Hopi designs; a small piece of turquoise is inlaid flush in the deer’s body. His Navajo wedding basket pin incorporates a small piece of copper to symbolize the red band in traditional wedding baskets.

*Hallmarked belt buckle by Willie Yazzie, 1950s, with appliquéd Pueblo bird design utilizes more background, or negative space, than design.*

*Back of the Pueblo bird belt buckle above showing Willie Yazzie’s hallmark.*

According to Social Security records, Willie A. Yazzie was born at Chinle, Arizona in 1928. His son says he learned silverwork at Dean Kirk’s trading post in Manuelito in the early 1950s, and created his touchmark (or hallmark) no later than 1960, and after that time his pieces made at Dean Kirk’s would have included his gourd dipper hallmark. His designs often incorporated animal figures such as roadrunners or Navajo designs including Yeis and Father Sky. He never added “tamp work,” or a textured pattern to the background designs.

*Bracelet with appliqué swirl design made by Navajo silversmith Willie Yazzie for trader Dean Kirk.*

In 1960 Ansel Hall, concessionaire at Mesa Verde National Park, was looking for a silversmith to demonstrate at the park during the summers months, Dean Kirk recommended Willie Yazzie and he was hired by Hall. Willie worked at Mesa Verde in the summers from 1960 to 1983, except for 1965 when he was sick. Yazzie created a special hallmark to denote pieces he made at Mesa Verde. The mark depicts Square Tower House, a ruin within the park, and was included with his gourd dipper mark during the summers of 1960-1964 and 1966-1983.

*This salt spoon was made by Willie Yazzie while he worked at Mesa Verde National Park during the summers of 1960-1983, as indicated by the hallmarks on the back. Courtesy Bille Hougart.*

*Hallmarks on the back of the salt spoon above by Willie Yazzie includes his medicine dipper touchmark and the Square Tower House mark for work made at Mesa Verde National Park. Courtesy Bille Hougart.*

*Another image of Willie Yazzie’s gourd dipper hallmark with the Square Tower House mark for work made at Mesa Verde National Park. Courtesy Bille Hougart.*

Willie A. Yazzie died in 1999, but his family, including his widow, daughter and Willie Jr continue the tradition of Willie’s overlay work. Willie Jr said that his sister has most of their father’s tools and stamps, and that she still uses the gourd dipper mark. Willie uses mostly his initials as his hallmark, but doesn’t do much silverwork anymore, he is retired from the National Park Service where he was a ranger at Canyon de Chelly. Willie, who lives in Chinle, said his sons do a little silversmithing, but that they are busy and don’t have much time for it.

*Overlay pin by Willie Yazzie. Courtesy Karen Leblanc.*

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog July 20, 2018.

John Silver Never Worked at Vaughn’s

To be clear, Navajo silversmith John Silver, the owner of the star hallmark found on many silver and copper butterflies (and other exceptional jewelry) never worked for Reese Vaughn at any of his locations. Our research has found no connection between John Silver and Vaughn’s Indian Store. That is not to imply that further research, or as yet undiscovered resources, may one day indicate otherwise.

Copper and silver butterfly pins by John Silver.

The assumption that John Silver worked at Vaughn’s Indian Store seems to have originated in a design decision in Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry: Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government that we never imagined would result in any confusion.

In March 2008, after attending the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Pat and I unexpectedly ended the debate about whether to have the jewelry in our next project professionally photographed, or take the photos ourselves, when we stopped at a Phoenix camera shop to obtain a static-free lint brush and instead walked out with a Nikon digital camera and a home studio set-up.

During our initial efforts to photograph our own collection, with only a hazy vision of the final publication, we grouped four hallmarked butterfly pins into a single photograph. It turned out to be a visually appealing image, but the hallmarks on the pieces were diverse; two were signed with the same star hallmark, one marked with a knifewing figure, and another signed VAUGHN’S. At the time of the photograph only the Vaughn’s shop mark had a clear attribution, we still needed to research the other two marks.

Four butterfly pins with different hallmarks.

The star mark on the silver and copper butterflies, a five-pointed star with a raised circle in the center, had given us grief from the first time we saw it.

We had trouble accepting the general consensus that the mark belonged to Harold Koruh (Hopi) or to Dan Simplicio (Zuni). Neither attribution felt right as the work was nothing like we would expect from Koruh, a Hopi who learned in the GI Bill classes under Paul Saufkie; nor Simplicio who most often worked with stone settings. The Koruh attribution sprang from the star hallmark illustrated in Margaret Wright’s Hopi Silver:

Harold Koruh entry in Margaret Wright's Hopi Silver.

And the Simplicio attribution from Barton Wright’s Hallmarks of the Southwest:

Dan Simplicio entry in Barton Wright's Hallmarks of the Southwest.

Though neither drawing was a match to the star hallmark in question, there wasn’t any evidence that it belonged to any other silversmith.

After some time, and discussions with Russell Hartman—then Collections Manager for the Anthropology Department at California Academy of Sciences—we discovered the star hallmark on those butterflies had been documented in the Elkus Collection as that of John Silver (Navajo), found at this link Collections Database listing for CAS 0370-1646. The Elkus Collection, as discussed in previous blogs, is one of the most thoroughly documented collections of Indian art ever assembled.

Supporting our attribution of John Silver for the star mark on butterflies were actual examples of Dan Simplicio’s hallmark, only available after the proliferation of digital cameras, which confirmed his mark to be very similar, yet different from the one we had.

Finally, the last hallmark in our grouping of four butterflies, the knifewing with GALLUP in the center, was identified as that of Gallup Mercantile with the help of Jay Evetts.

After lengthy research it finally came time to write the manuscript. We had enough information on Vaughn’s Indian Store to not only include the shop mark, but also a couple of paragraphs about the owner Reese Vaughn and a few of the silversmiths who worked there. We had two photographs that each contained different versions of the Vaughn’s shop mark, so it felt natural to place them with the text. Unfortunately, this didn’t allow the two marks not associated with Vaughn’s to speak for themselves.

Here is page 48 from the book as the publisher designed it:

Page 48 from Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry.

With the caption:

Caption from page 48 or the image above.

As you can see, we never actually wrote anywhere that John Silver worked at Vaughn’s. But we now see that having his hallmark on the same page devoted to the history of Vaughn’s Indian Store implied that he did. We regret the unfortunate misperception that this has caused.

As for John Silver, he has been challenging to pin down. It is possible that he could have also gone by the names John Etcitty, or John/Johnny Silversmith, who worked at Zion National Park and Garden of the Gods Trading Post. However, listed in the appendix of Navajo silversmiths working in 1938 in John Adair’s Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths, are two John Silversmiths and one John Silver. Unfortunately it may be impossible to ever know exactly which of these may have used the star hallmark.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog May 28, 2018.