Hopi Silver - www.alltribes.com
When we think of jewelry made by the native American Indians, most of the time we don't include the Hopi. The reason for that is they came to the table as silversmiths many years after most of the tribe had made silver for the markets. The Hopi did no metal work until they came into contact with the Europeans. In fact, not until the 1900's did they begin to experiment with metal.
Their first attempts to join the markets for jewelry and other decorative pieces were not signed and until the 1930 there were no Hopi pieces that could be identified by their marks. For the collector of Indian jewelry, production from the 1930's through the 1950's are usually the items most searched for and this is the most productive period for the Hopi.
In the Indian culture skills were passed down through the family like father to son or mother to daughter. Yellow Knife was one of the most predominate silversmiths in the Hopi Nation and he trained Tawa-nimp-tewa and Tawa-hong-niwa. The family of these men were the best of the best in crafting silver. Today signed Hopi pieces can bring huge money and the pieces by well known artists should make you very happy if you come upon them.
A great little book by Margaret Nickelson Wright called Hopi Silver- The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing, has more information about the Hopi history of metal works than I have found anywhere else. It should be a purchase you make and in the future it will more than pay for itself. You should be able to find it on Amazon or Abe’s Books. It has as complete a listing of the Hopi Hallmarks as I think you can find.
Signed pieces by the better Hopi artists can command thousands of dollars and even the average signed piece should sell in the hundreds. If you develop a keen eye you will be able to spot these pieces selling for under $100. Often the jewelry will be adored with turquoise or other stones but the greatest majority of pieces will be all silver.
The thing that I like best about the Hopi pieces is that the quality items were made late enough where they can be identified by a hallmark. You know who made them and usually when. There are collectors who just collect pieces by a certain artist and this is where it really becomes fun. These collectors not only buy pieces make by these individuals but also research their history and often buy personal items owned by the particular Indian.
It may look just like another piece of Indian jewelry to most but to you it may be a diamond in the rough. Here again knowledge is everything.
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