Stoneweaver, Inc. — Southwest Jewelry Shop & Marks

Name-card placeholder — historic shop-mark imagery to follow. © Turquoise Skies Inc.

Silver production shop · inlay and silversmithing · Southwest Jewelry Guide

Overview

Stoneweaver, Inc. was a silversmithing production shop that employed a documented roster of Navajo silversmiths, with a specialization in inlay work. The shop is recorded in Hougart as providing silver work for many inlay artists, suggesting it operated as a production house — supplying silverwork (fabrication of settings, bezels, and structural elements) to artists who set the stones or completed the inlay independently.

Hougart documents at least ten named smiths who worked at Stoneweaver, Inc., making it one of the more extensively staffed shop operations in the corpus. Their individual hallmarks appear on pieces that may carry the Stoneweaver connection as provenance context.

Artists connected to Stoneweaver, Inc.

Cecil Ashley (Navajo, active since 1971) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. His work included link belts, bracelets, overlay inlay, coral, and opals. His mark begins with CA; the full mark text is partially degraded in the Hougart OCR. The Ashley family at Stoneweaver is a documented cluster: Allee Ashley (mark: A. ASHLEY), J. Ashley (mark: J. ASHLEY), Fred Ashley (mark: F.A.), and Monroe Ashley are all recorded in Hougart adjacent to the Cecil Ashley entry.

Albert Francisco (Navajo) was a silversmith at various shops, including Stoneweaver, Inc., and provided silver work for many inlay artists. His marks are AF and A. FRANCISCO.

Kenneth Bitsie (Navajo) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Marks: KB; Kenneth Bitsie.

Alvin Fuson (Navajo) did inlay work at Stoneweaver, Inc.; Hougart notes that his inlay may have been set by other artists — a detail that clarifies the shop's collaborative production model. His mark is AF.

James Lee (Navajo) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Mark: James Lee (script and C).

Leo Nez (Navajo) was a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Mark: L N.

Sheila Tso (Navajo) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Mark: S Tso.

Eddie Tsosie (Navajo) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Mark: Ed Tsosie (script).

An unnamed Tsosie (Navajo) is listed as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. with set stones.

Robert Vandover (Navajo) worked as a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. in inlay and channel inlay, multi-stone. Mark: V (may have a © symbol).

C. Webster (Navajo, active since 1970s) was a silversmith at Stoneweaver, Inc. Mark: C. WEBSTER (may be in script; may be with a feather symbol).

Production model

Hougart's note that Alvin Fuson's inlay "may have been set by other artists" is a key interpretive clue. Stoneweaver operated as a division-of-labor production environment: silversmiths fabricated the silver components, while lapidary inlay work was set separately — sometimes by other artists outside the shop. Collectors attributing inlay pieces to this shop should expect the silversmith's hallmark to indicate fabrication, not necessarily the setting.

References

• Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Entries for Cecil Ashley, Albert Francisco, Kenneth Bitsie, Alvin Fuson, James Lee, Leo Nez, Sheila Tso, Eddie Tsosie, Robert Vandover, C. Webster; cross-reference Stoneweaver, Inc.