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A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

Zuni Silversmithing and Lapidary: Channel Inlay, Needlepoint, and the Stone-First Tradition

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Zuni silversmithing is the lapidary tradition of the American Southwest. Where Navajo work foregrounds silver, Zuni jewelry is organized around stone: the silver is structure, the turquoise, coral, jet, shell, and later coral are the subject. Channel inlay, mosaic inlay, clusterwork, needlepoint, and petit point—all stone-intensive techniques requiring precise lapidary work—are the methods most closely identified with Zuni craftspeople. The tradition dates to 1872, when Navajo smith Atsidi Chon taught the first Zuni silverworker.

Mateo's Field Notes

Bedinger's account of the Zuni beginning is unusually precise because John Adair, in the early 1940s, tracked down first-generation Zuni silversmiths and cross-referenced their recollections. Atsidi Chon arrived at Zuni around 1872, found a resident who spoke Navajo named Lanyade, and set up a workshop in Lanyade's house. He made conchas, silver beads, bowguard mountings, buttons, and triangular-section bracelets—all the forms the earliest Navajo smiths made—while guarding his knowledge jealously, not allowing anyone but Lanyade to watch him. "He could get 'a team of good horses' for a concha belt," Bedinger notes (1973:131–133). After a year of work and upon receiving a good horse, Atsidi Chon taught Lanyade the craft and departed, driving "many horses and sheep."

The early Zuni-made silver was like early Navajo work: heavy, largely unset. But the Zunis' pre-existing preoccupation with stones changed the tradition's direction decisively. Bedinger documents the tipping point: "From 1900 on, more turquoise came on the market, much of it soft and easy to work. Zuni smiths now could indulge their love of stones. They used them in mosaic fashion, massed together" (Bedinger 1973:141). Improved tools arrived—emery wheels replaced sandstone slabs, lapidary sticks held small stones to the wheel, fine pliers handled tiny pieces and their small bezels. By 1910, Bedinger writes, blue stone dominated the picture: "Decoration by die work had disappeared. Tiny drops or 'the swirl of differently twisted wire or strips of silver ribbon' were the only metal visible" (Bedinger 1973:142, citing Neumann 1933:71).

C. G. Wallace, the trader at Zuni for decades, plays a documented role in the mid-century development of the tradition. In 1938 he procured one of the first lots of uncut coral trees available to Zuni smiths—raw Mediterranean coral, not pre-cut beads—enabling the polychrome stone combinations that define high-period Zuni inlay. Bedinger records that Wallace's coral import found Zuni smiths well prepared: "Zuni efficiency and skill in working coral compares favorably with that of the lapidaries of the Old World" (Bedinger 1973:151, citing Neumann 1951:215–217). Our directory includes a shop entry for C. G. Wallace, where his stamps and role in hallmark documentation are discussed.

The Zuni Craftsmen's Cooperative Association (ZCCA), formed in the 1960s, introduced a quality-control mark and a cooperative structure that allowed Zuni smiths to market work collectively. Its stamps ("US ZUNI 1" and variants) appear in Hougart's hallmark documentation (Hougart, 5th ed., 2022) and are a reliable attribution signal on pieces from that period.

The fetish tradition—carved stone animals and figures used in ceremonial contexts by the Zuni people—intersects with the silver tradition in the form of commercially produced fetish necklaces strung with carved stones. Some symbols carry sacred meaning within living Zuni traditions. We choose to respect that. This page is deliberately limited to what the jewelry-trade record documents and what artists have shared publicly about the commercial work. The carved-stone fetish necklace as a commercial form is documented in the corpus; the ceremonial dimension of fetish objects within Zuni spiritual practice is not described here.

Collector's Handbook

  • Stone quality and cutting precision are primary indicators. In Zuni needlepoint and petit point, the stones must be uniform in size, cut to precise shape (elongated teardrop vs. rounded oval), and set evenly. Uneven cuts or irregular sizing indicate lower-grade work or non-Zuni production.
  • Channel walls should be clean silver, not solder-filled. In channel inlay, the dividing silver walls should be distinct and solid. Heavy solder fill or gaps in the walls indicate rushed or amateur construction.
  • The ZCCA mark and Hougart-documented hallmarks are the strongest attribution signals for mid-twentieth-century work. "US ZUNI 1" stamps (C. G. Wallace's mark), registered individual hallmarks, and the ZCCA cooperative mark all appear in Hougart (2022).
  • Distinguish Zuni from non-Zuni mosaic inlay. Much commercial mosaic inlay is produced outside Zuni, often in Mexico or Asia, and sold without artist attribution. Genuine Zuni work typically bears an individual hallmark, a ZCCA mark, or documented artist attribution through gallery provenance.

Signature Techniques

Zuni craftspeople are the primary practitioners of channel inlay, mosaic inlay, needlepoint and petit point, and clusterwork. Zuni smiths also produce stampwork pieces, often using stampwork borders as structural frames around inlaid fields.

Related Symbol and Form Pages

Knifewing Symbol · Rainbow Man Symbol · Zuni Sun Face · Zuni Fetishes · Cluster Rings and Jewelry

Zuni Silversmiths in Our Directory

59 Zuni artists are documented in the T.Skies Co-Op Silversmith Directory. Top profiles by corpus depth:

Leekya Deyuse · Alice Leekya Homer · Angela Cellicion · Anson & Leticia Wallace · Anthony Edaakie · Augustine Panteah · Ben Eustace · Bernice Leekya · Charles Hustito · Dennis Edaakie · Eddy Beyuka · Esther Panteah · Farrel Kallestewa · Francis Leekya · Gerlinda Quam

See the full A–Z directory for all 59 Zuni artists.

Primary Sources

  • Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers. University of New Mexico Press, 1973. Pp. 131–143, 151.
  • Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. University of Oklahoma Press, 1944. Pp. 121–128.
  • Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).

Related Entries

Navajo / Diné Silversmithing · Hopi Silver and Overlay · Channel Inlay · Needlepoint and Petit Point · Clusterwork · C. G. Wallace · Field Guide Hub