Anticipating Indian Market

Every August I attend the Gallup Intertribal Ceremony jewelry exhibition in search of emerging local artists and to get a look at the winning show pieces which seem to go to the same established old masters year after year. Although definitely worth my time, the Gallup show pales in comparison to the Annual Santa Fe Indian Market where the hallmark is quality and jewelry treasures seem endless. Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest annual event in Santa Fe, has been held each August for the past 80 years. In year 1922 first prize was worth $5; this year it's worth $12,000. 1,200 artists from about 100 tribes converge in the Plaza to who show their work in over 600 booths. The outdoor event attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors to Santa Fe from all over the world. It's a great opportunity to buy directly from the artists. For retail dealers like myself, it's primarily a time to see new work and meet artists, many of them otherwise elusive. My list is growing. Near the top is JD Coriz from the nearby Santo Domingo Reservation. I've begun purchasing some of his masterwork through one of the Albuquerque wholesalers, but I have yet to meet the man. I will be taking my computer and camera equipment so I hope to be adding a few blog entries at this year's showing. Pictured here is one of JD Coriz's masterworks. Cost about $2400.

Ev'rythin's up to date in Kansas City

Zuni Silversmith Don Dewa began his career as a jewelry maker in 1970. His name is now one of the top in the business. Don doesn't like making buckles, so I feel fortunate to have acquired this Western buckle and the ranger buckle set earlier shown in this blog. Don's craftsmanship is perfect in most every respect. He is now especially noted for his use of the spinner in his products. The buckle shown here has three sunface spinners and the center piece has a circular red spinner for a total of four. This is his first of this design. When I look at this exquisite buckle, I can hear Cowboy Will Parker from Roger and Hammerstein's landmark musical Oklahoma clearly singing out: "Ev'rythin's up to date in Kansas City. They've gone about as fur as they c'n go!" Yep, this buckle is a picture of artistic perfection, definitely worthy of Will's vision of Kansas City and the glorious things he found there. I think Mr. Dewa has gone about as far as he can go.

Don recently accepted an invitation to personally visit and show his work in Japan. Now that trumps Kansas City.

Retail value of Western Buckle: $4800.

Clayton's Cosmic Bear

Last week I was asked to write up a promotional piece on Clayton Tom. Even though some of the information has been previously presented in this blog, I thought I'd include it anyway. I chose the cosmic bear as the best example of his work. The bear shown here is actually signed inside the bale as a Calvin Begay piece, but the inlay and front design are what really bring it to life so it's credited more Clayton than Calvin. Last night I asked Sandy to string it on turquoise and wear it to the Santa Fe Opera. As we knew it would, it proved to a be an irresistible eye catcher. Once the silver is cast, it takes Clayton about 3 days to do the full inlay and deliver the finished product. This piece retails for around $1400.

The name Clayton Tom is well woven into the fabric of celebrated Native American artists of the new century. His brilliant jewelry has consistently earned him top awards at major jewelry art shows and led to his recognition as one of the great masters of micro-inlay design and technique. His name is always a contender as tops in his speciality, but most often seen now as a credit to his jewelry when displayed in books or periodicals that feature Native American Art. Frequently in short supply and hard to find, his jewelry is always in high demand as showcase inventory among Southwestern jewelry dealers. It is similarly prized among Native American jewelry collectors, and readily coveted by those who just see his masterful creations. Clayton’s award winning work includes concho belts, necklaces, and ranger belt buckle sets, but his personal favorite and most beloved is the cosmic bear pendant which celebrates the Yei-bi-Chai, supernatural beings in the Navajo culture who are sometimes referred to as the "Medicine People", the "Holy People", or "Winter Gods". The "Winter Gods" reference arises from the Yei Bi 'Chai ceremony held in the late fall or early winter. In Navajo culture, they are believed to be the source of healing powers and blesser of the corn.

Even though Clayton’s jewel creations are hailed as the crème del crème of the microinlay world, the artist himself avoids the limelight and there is little published on the man himself. I caught up with Clayton in his workspace. It’s impressive to see him grind away at tiny pieces of stones to precisely fit tiny allocated slivers and dots into channels of sterling silver. When I asked about the particular pendant design he was working on the day I interviewed him, he looked up and pulled down a piece of ratty corrugated cardboard to show me his inception drawing. His reverence for traditional Navajo ways was apparent as he went on to explain that he was not supposed to be doing Yei-be-Chai image work in the winter. He elaborated by describing the physical consequences of violating this taboo. I was glad to hear that said consequences weighed in on the minor ailment scale. He told me much more, but between the grinding wheel and his loud rock music, I did not hear much of what he had to say.

Clayton Tom was born in Denver, Colorado in 1970 while his parents were away on job-site. He was raised on the Navajo reservation in Tse-Yah-Toh, New Mexico. He graduated from Gallup High School and now lives with his family a few miles South of Gallup in Vanderwagon, New Mexico. His hobby is building car and truck engines.

Master Silversmith Alex Sanchez

Alex Sanchez (Navajo) is something of newcommer on the block here in Gallup. He's been silversmithing for a half-dozen years and marketing his work through merchants in Santa Fe & Albuquerque even though he lives just outside of Gallup. One of my wholesaler friends met him at the prestigous annual Native American Treasures Arts Festival in Santa Fe and persuaded him to market some of his items through her trading company. That's where I first met Alex and was introduced to his rather unique work superbly crafted with a mix of old vintage technique bursting with Native American symbols and yet ignited by contemporary flair. I cannot think of any other artist who compares. There is but a hint in the image above, but Alex dutifully stamps the back of his pieces with decorative imprints. This year I made sure to drop by his booth in Santa Fe; he was having a very good day. Alex is a fairly young man, I expect him to have many good days ahead and to see his name one day in our own sidewalk hall of fame if we ever get one. At any rate this man's work is highly collectible, very reasonably priced considering the top-of-the-line quality and unique individual design of each piece. It is worthy of any museum that honors Native American Jewelry. We at Wilford's are exceedingly proud to be promoting Alex's fine art.

Our Best Seller

Some site visitors who write to me comment that the merchandise of Wilford's Trading Post is just too expensive for their budget. It is true that I sure like to purchase and display high end window show pieces like the Quandelacy Fetish Necklaces, the Don Dewa ranger set or the Harry Morgan concho belt. In response to those who have written asking for an array of merchandise with a few more items on the lower end of the spectrum, I have begun stocking many more items that sell below $50. One item, the hair combs, as pictured here have been up since the beginning. They are our best seller. We buy them 100 units at time and ship them around the world. At $18.99 a pair, they are inexpensive, elegant, and meld the two most common ingredients of Southwest Native American Jewelry, sterling silver and turquoise, into a practical eye-catching hair piece.

The Apache: Spirtuality but No Jewels

My trading post acquisitions have recently been very limited; but no problem, half the fun is in the research. Last weekend I spent in Santa Fe at the annual Native American Treaures Show. I didn't buy any new stock, but I did meet some of the current top jewelry artists. This weekend I decided to retreat to the high elevations of the tall Ponderosa Pines to explore the White River Apache reservation, but once again I came back rather empty handed. I met the owner of one of the trading posts of Pinedale, AZ who claimed to have come from a line of Indian traders going all the way back to namesake of the famous Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona. I noticed he had a limited supply of Zuni, Navajo, and Hopi jewelry in his shop which is located in town just few minutes from the White River Apache reservation. I told him that in all my explorations of the day I had seen precious little that was Apache derived: some buckskin clothing, beadwork, and a few baskets. As he talked he also worked without hesitation attaching ceremonial bells to straps of leather for his Apache clients. He explained, "The Apache do not care about crafts or jewelry, they are into Spiritual expressions." I left grateful for the information and the fact that he directed me to a place for a beautiful evening hike overlooking the famed Mongolian rim. But before my sunset hike I continued exploring and discovered the sign shown here. So for all my market research which included a trip to old Fort Apache, I returned with no jewels, no beads or buckskin, but I can proudly point to my one image of the trip: someone's manifestation of Apache spirituality.

Buckle & Bolo Sets of Isabelle Simplicio

I had seen Isabelle Simplicio's work on multiple occasions in wholesale rooms, but I paid little attention to her bezel set horse head cameos until just last week when our paths crossed in the showroom of Ray's Trading Company. Isabelle in a quiet manner stepped in next to me and handed Ray the bolo / buckle set you see here. As she turned around and exited Ray said to me, "that lady was Isabelle Simplicio and here is her work." At that moment I had a flashback to one of my cherished references published in three volumes in 1975, "ZUNI, The Art and the People". I proudly left with the set along with one of her watchbands of similar design and on returning home confirmed my vague recall. The book shows her in 1975 sitting at her work bench working on the same product. The limited write-up notes that she and her husband had been making the horsehead jewelry for 15 years and "when asked, they mark their jewelry with an engraver." The husband is apparently no longer involved, but it appears little has changed. Her work is still a big market success and is still signed rather crudely with an engraver.

I have now moved her jewelry to my top 10 Indian Jewelry favorites in large part, I think, because for me it evokes action memories of the late 1950's and 1960's when Westerns ruled the cinema and as country boys we dreamed of growing up to be handsome cowboys in fancy dress complete with broad rimmed Stetsons, pearl snap buttons, tall shiny boots, big Western buckles, and colorful bolos.

The Art of Helen and Lincoln Zunie

For months I've wanted to feature the mosaic inlay jewelry of Helen and Lincoln. This past week I finally rounded up enough of their gemstone horse creations to shoot a composite image. Their work has been time tested since at least the early 1970's and no Zuni collection can be considered complete without at least a sampling of their work. Their hallmark "HL Zunie", stands for both Helen and Lincoln. Sadly, Lincoln carries on with the work alone now that Helen is deceased. Like Effie's Serpent jewelry creations, Helen and Lincoln's horse bolos, buckles, and pendant/pins will endure as highly valued art creations until the end of time as we know it.

Navajo Inlay Pocket Knives Part II

The knives pictured here are another manifestation of my aforementioned conversation with Eddie of the East Mountain Inlay Cutlery Co. The stones used in these knives are again stabilized. The wood is packa. The core knives are manufactured by Bear & Sons cutlery. Located in Jacksonville, Florida, they have a long history of making high quality knives. The knives shown are made of 420 carbon stainless steel, bolsters are made of nickle silver and each one is inscribed Navajo on the bolster. These knives are now being inlaid in Gallup by the dozens. Retail cost is around $65.

Navajo Inlay Pocket Knives / Part I

A few weeks ago the owner of the recently formed EMI Inlay Cutlery Company asked me for some advice in arranging for Native American knife handle inlay work. Most of the current products on the market are imports. The knife pictured here is a high end pocket knife born of our discussion and collaboration. The inlay was done by a Navajo inlayer at Sunrise Indian Jewelry in Gallup. The stones are enhanced and stablized to resist chipping. The knife itself is a Boker-Tree made in Soligen, Germany. The company was founded in the late 17th century and has since been known world wide for making knives of the highest quality carbon steel. Unlike stainless steel, these blades need to be periodically oiled, but they yield a sharper blade. The bolsters are of nickel-silver.

Eddie & Johnathan Beyuka

The late Eddie Beyuka started producing jewelry in 1956, at first working with his wife Madeline who did the inlay to his silverwork. After separation, Eddie began doing both the silver and lapidary work. He was honored as a contemporary master in the ARIZONA HIGHWAYS magazine Hall of Fame in August of 1974. The entire inside back cover was devoted to showing 7 of his distinctive kachina creations designed primarily to be used as a bolo tie, but also fitted with a small stand for stand alone exhibition. Eddie's son Jonathan has carried on his Father’s work. Jonathan’s kachina bolo ties are readily available at many of the jewelry outlets here in Gallup. I had never seen one of Eddie’s kachina bolos for sale, but I had seen them in museums and of course in nearly all the books that deal with Southwest Native American jewelry. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to view a collection of the Father’s work first hand and even do side-by-side comparisons with the work of his son. I agree with others that the son’s craftsmanship is somewhat better than that of Father’s. Eddie (who’s work currently sells for as much as 10 fold than that of his son’s work) deserves historical artistic honor a notch above the son for having pioneered this unique bolo jewelry. The piece you see above is a multi-stone Hopi Snake Dancer set in sterling silver by son Jonathan. It measures approximately 3 3/8 x 2 inches. Cost = $249. Click on image for a more detailed view.

Bev Etsate's Grand Ram Dancer Kachina Bolo Tie

Here is a fine example of a very prominent bolo tie again showing stone on stone in a silver casing. You will find no tortoise shell in this newly minted master work, the black background is Acoma Jet, the other stones, include white and yellow tipped mother-of-pearl, sleeping beauty turquoise, and red coral. It's hard to see in this image but this Ram Kachina has a nifty sterling silver wrist adornment compete with tiny cabochons of turquoise and red coral. The main piece measures 5 3/4 by 2 5/8 inches. You might be more comfortable with this work on shelf display, but it certainly shouts to be worn on special occasions, particularly here in the heart of bolo tie country where the bolo has been declared the office necktie of both Arizona and New Mexico. The cost of this bolo is $1500. A 1970's vintage piece by her Mother and Father will cost at least twice as much if you can find one.

Vintage Zuni Shalako Bolo Tie

I submitted an entry to this blog on the relatively unique work of three dimensional inlay specialist Bev Etsate a couple of months ago. Bev learned the craft from her famous parents. I recently had the opportunity to see a stellar example of her parent's work in a museum case at a showing of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe. I was impressed and began to long for a side-by-side comparison of work done by their talented and obviously well trained daughter. It was a challenge to find vintage work of the parent's for sale, but I finally located a few pieces, the most impressive is the Shalako Kachina shown above. The Zuni Shalako is a diety that comes to Zuni every year near the Winter solstice to bring blessings of fertility, long life and prosperity to Zuni. I also found a similarly sized Ram Dancer Kachina bolo tie by Beverly that I plan to feature on my next blog entry. On careful inspection I did find what a few others have noted, e.g. the parent's work is slightly more refined. Stone upon stone inlay set in silver definitely belongs in the historical and contemporary Zuni domains of this family. Any book showing examples of Zuni jewelry will feature either the work of the parents or daughter. The oval center piece measures 5 x 2 1/4 inches. This piece was made prior to 1975 and contains tortoise shell which is no longer legal. Today's maket value is approximately $2800.00.

Ms. Cowboy's Jewel

I was listing various little treasures to sell through the Ebay store last night when I pulled this piece out of the bag. I bought it about three weeks ago at a wholesaler outfit with decades long connections here, a hearty little business that specializes in the low to middle end of the Native American Jewelry spectrum. The pendant really impressed me at all levels on careful inspection. The silversmithing is excellent with appealing design cuts and a twisted wire boundary below the plain bezel. The semiprecious stones with perfectly rounded outer edges are well selected and inlaid in an appealing mosaic pattern with great precision between very slender slivers of sterling silver. The slider bale is plain but perfectly cut and shaped. Then last of all I noted the tidy double E hallmark imprint stamped to a desirable uniform depth on the plain silver back. Not perfect, but this pendant was, I thought, without doubt the work of a thrifty master jewelry maker. My guess was that he or she had been employed at one of the many jewelry manufacturing outfits here in Gallup because this work is an evolutionary looking creation bridging the gap between the old traditional and new style jewelry created by specialist teams. I started to call this blog entry, "Jewel of an Unknown Artist," but then I decided to make some inquires today so I carried the piece back to my buying source and learned that its creator was Kristen Ella Cowboy (Navajo), an experienced jewelry maker of many years who does have a background in the jewelry manufacturing business but also works for herself. I asked my good dealer friend to relay to Ms. Cowboy* my admiration of her fine work and to order in some more products for me to pickup.

*Cowboy is a very common Navajo name

The Covered Wagons of Virgil Dishta

The Dishta artisan legacy goes back at least as far as Frank Dishta who was born in 1902 in Zuni. He is best known for his channel inlay, ground flush, and often composed of tiny circles, diamond shapes, and tear drops. His artistry anticipated the modern micro specialists like Ervin Tsosie, Clayton Tom, and Sammy Smith. Frank's son Virgil Dishta, Sr. distinguished himself with a prestigious award in 1950 from the Inter-tribal Ceremonial in Gallup, NM and subsequent recognition that year in Arizona Highways. Covered Wagons were his favorite design subject. Theda and Michael Bassman in their very well illustrated book Zuni Jewelry show an example one of his covered wagons pins made in the 1940's with wheels that turn and a brake that moves. The family jewelry traditions and skill live on through Virgil M. Dishta who also produces covered wagon pieces as illustrated above. Note the intricacy of the design and the small flush pieces of turquoise and red coral that bring bright color to the piece and reflect the work of his Grandfather. There are no brakes on the wagons, but on the bolo tie end pieces the wheels turn freely. The beauty and bountiful linear family heritage embodied in this jewelry pair makes them real Western classics.