"The book reviews the nineteenth-century evolution of the art form, shining a particular light on certain ambiguities regarding important interrelationships among its most famous figures. Fred Peslakai hailed from one of the most recognized artistic bloodlines of his noble people. This book is the beginning catalogue of his beautiful silver artwork, providing hundreds of images as well as discussions of each piece's technical and artistic merits. No longer mythical, Fred Peshlakai is shown to be one of the most, if not the most, influential Navajo artisan to impact the creation of Navajo silver art, and his work is recognized as the world-class art treasures they truly are" -- Dust jacket.

Hallmarks identify thousands of Native American silversmiths -- so many that even seasoned collectors cannot remember them all. However, with concise information at hand, anyone can become an expert at spotting the most important marks. This book helps you do that. It has hallmarks and brief biographies of 100 Native American silversmiths, chosen after consultation with experts in the field. Silversmiths and designers in this book have all passed away, making their work even more desirable and collectible.

Probably no native American handicrafts are more widely admired than Navajo weaving and Navajo and Pueblo silver work. This book contains the first full and authoritative account of the Indian silver jewelry fashioned in the Southwest by the Navajo and the Zuni, Hopi, and other Pueblo peoples. It is written by John Adair, a trained ethnologist who has become a recognized expert on this craft. “A volume conspicuously pleasing in its format and so strikingly handsome in its profuse illustrations as to rivet your attention once it chances to fall open. With the care of a meticulous and thorough scholar, the author has told the story of his several years’ investigation of jewelry making among the Southwestern Indians. So richly decorative are the plates he uses for his numerous illustrations showing the jewelry itself, the Indians working at it and the Indians wearing it—that the conscientious narrative is surrounded by an atmosphere of genuinely exciting visual experience.”—The Dallas Times Herald The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths provides a full history of the craft and the actual names and localities of the pioneer craftsmen who introduced the art of the silversmith to their people. Despite its present high stage of development, with its many subtle and often exquisite designs, the art of working silver is not an ancient one among the Navajo and Pueblo Indians. There are men still living today who remember the very first silversmiths.

The intensive research undertaken for this valuable book properly identifies forty-five Native American silversmiths and their hallmarks found on Southwest jewelry. Most of the marks date prior to the 1970s and some as early as the 1920s, along with the marks of traders, guilds, and the government. This fascinating read also provides the stories of the artists and institutions represented by these marks. Over 275 color and black-and-white images illustrate the marks in situ on the jewelry, along with images of artists, trading posts, and guild ads. The text explains why and when these marks were used. Among the important Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo silversmiths whose lives and artworks are explored are Grant Jenkins, Fred Peshlakai, Juan De Dios, Da-Pah, Awa Tsireh, and others. The majority of the talented Indian silversmiths represented here left their homes on the reservation in the early twentieth century to work in cities and tourist venues. The profiles presented also feature a handful of contemporary artists who are recognized as master silversmiths.

Presents a comprehensive view of the four major influences on Navajo sivler design, showing how the early Navajo silversmiths adapted art forms of European settlers and Indians in the eastern United States as well as those of the Spanish and Mexican colonists in the Southwest.

The author has matched maker's marks used on jewelry, pots, fetish carvings, rugs, and baskets with their names, tribes, relatives, and style notes.

The history and hallmarks of Hopi silversmithing.