Tag: US NAVAJO

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.

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 Company                           Zuni, NM

            Pueblo Indian Arts & Craft Market      Albuquerque, 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.