Hopi Overlay Three Section Necklace with Geometric Designs [SOLD]

In 1939, founders of the Museum of Northern Arizona—Mary Russell Colton and her husband, Dr. Harold S. Colton—established the Hopi Craftsman Exhibit. It was an event for showcasing the work of Hopi jewelers. Mary Colton believed that Hopi artists should develop a distinctive style that would be recognized as uniquely Hopi. Colton had curator of the museum, Virgil Hubert, come up with designs based on Hopi pottery motifs. With the coming of World War II, the creations of arts and crafts at Hopi slowed down significantly as a result of the lack of resources, both in material and manpower.

After World War II, Fred Kabotie and Paul Saufkie were enlisted by Director of Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to begin a GI training program for Hopi veterans, which eventually became the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild.  It provided silversmithing classes to Hopi veterans returning from the war. The program began in 1947, teaching silversmithing skills where students utilized design forms that Hubert had developed in the late 1930s as well as their own personal designs. Artists signed the pieces with a sun hallmark as well as their own personal mark, indicating the pieces were from the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild.

It was during this period that the Hopi overlay technique was developed. As each design had to be approved by Kabotie, the classes were difficult. One of the first students in the program and one of the first to excel at Hopi overlay was Wallie Sekayumptewa.

This three-section necklace was made by Sekayumptewa while he was working at the Guild. Three overlay sections hang from a hand-made chain. The necklace design is an abstracted maze or spiral pattern constructed in the then new overlay technique. The artist cut the design with a tiny blade and then soldered the cut design to the bottom which was a hammered layer of silver. The resulting background was then chemically oxidized. It is signed with the artist’s personal hallmark, crossed arrows, as well as the sunface of the Hopi Crafts Guild.

This elegant Southwest Indian Jewelry necklace is a classic example of some of the best early Hopi overlay work by one of the first artists to work in the style. It would be a significant addition to any collection both for historical reasons as well as aesthetic ones.  

Condition: The necklace is in like new condition. The previous owner had attempted to polish the piece and there was a significant amount of red jewelers rouge in the sections. It had to be professionally cleaned to remove the red residue of the rouge. Therefore, the necklace has been polished to its original state and there is not a patina that would be a result of 50 years of wear.

Provenance: From a Colorado collection

Recommended Reading: The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry (Jewelry Crafts) by Theda Bassman