Sterling Silver Hopi Overlay Bracelet with Intricate Water Design by Stacey Josytewa [SOLD]

Hopi silversmith Stacey Josytewa used a repeating water symbol motif on this traditional style Hopi overlay bracelet. Desert dwellers for thousands of years, the Hopi honor and celebrate the life-giving rains that fall from the clouds. Much of Hopi ceremonialism is centered on prayers for water.  Design elements associated with water are a common pattern on Hopi art, both jewelry and pottery. On this bracelet, the artist has meticulously cut with a tiny jeweler’s saw one thin layer of silver with intricate water designs and overlaid it over a second oxidized or darkened layer. 

In 1938, Harold Colton and his wife Mary Russell Colton of the Museum of Northern Arizona began a program to encourage Hopi jewelers to create a unique style of jewelry that would be distinctively Hopi. Silversmiths incorporated designs that were similar to those used on Hopi pottery. In order to help jewelers market their jewelry, the Coltons initiated the Hopi Craftsman Exhibit. At the beginning of World War II, the project slowed due to a lack of materials and given the fact that many Hopi men joined the war effort. 

After World War II, Hopi artist Fred Kabotie and Hopi silversmith Paul Saufkie joined forces and established a program to teach Hopi veterans silversmithing skills. Their goal was to give returning veterans a new profession.  Kabotie was in charge of the artistic design and Saufkie taught the technical elements of silverworking. It was during this time that the overlay technique was established and perfected. After the first group of veterans graduated, the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild was formed. The Guild became instrumental in the training and education of a generation of Hopi artisans. 

This bracelet is a reflection of the techniques and design elements that were initiated during the time period after World War II at the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild. It is signed with Stacey Josytewa’s hallmark— the evening star.  It dates from the last quarter of the twentieth century.  

I have been unable to find any biographical information on the artist.  I welcome any input from others if you have any information.

Condition: The Sterling Silver Hopi Overlay Bracelet with Intricate Water Design by Stacey Josytewa is in excellent condition. 

Provenance: From a collector in Albuquerque

Recommended Reading: The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry by Theda Bassman

Realtive Links: Hopi Pueblo, Southwest Indian Jewelry, Stacey Josytewa