Tanner's Indian Arts (Ellis Tanner Trading Company) — Southwest Jewelry Trading Post & Marks

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

Trading post and lapidary supply · Gallup, New Mexico · active late 1960s onward · Southwest Jewelry Guide

Overview

Tanner's Indian Arts — formally known as the Ellis Tanner Trading Company — operated out of Gallup, New Mexico, and was one of the most important sources of high-grade turquoise for Navajo and Zuni silversmiths and inlay artists during the late 1960s through the 1980s. Per Hougart, owner Joe E. Tanner provided high-grade turquoise to silversmiths and inlay artists throughout this period. The shop was also associated with the Indian Arts and Crafts Center and the Kirk Trading Company.

The shop mark recorded by Hougart is a human figure, usually accompanied by the individual silversmith's own mark.

Shop mark

"Owner Joe E. Tanner provided high-grade turquoise to silversmiths and inlay artists from late 1960s to 1980s. The shop (in Gallup, NM) was also associated with the Indian Arts and Crafts Center and Kirk Trading Company. Mark: A human figure (usually accompanied by silversmith marks)" — Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), Shops section.

Pieces carrying the Tanner's human-figure mark typically also bear the individual silversmith's initials or personal hallmark; the pairing is the collector's key to attribution.

The Gallup context

Gallup was the commercial hub of the Navajo and Zuni jewelry trade through much of the twentieth century, and Tanner's occupied a central position in that economy. By supplying raw turquoise directly to working silversmiths, Tanner bridged the lapidary supply chain in a region where access to quality stone determined the character of the finished work.

Joe Tanner's shop attracted a range of accomplished smiths. Jesse Monongye — one of the major inlay artists of his generation — is documented in Hougart as having worked at Joe Tanner's shop and with Monongye's teacher Jesse Monongye, receiving the Arizona Indian Living Treasure award in 2004.

Artists connected to Tanner's Indian Arts

Kee Joe Benally, Jr. (1936–2014; Navajo) is documented in Hougart as having worked for the Ellis Tanner Trading Company as well as for Woodard's Indian Shop. His wide-ranging revival and hand-wrought work, combined with his named Arizona Indian Living Treasure recognition in 2004, made him one of the most extensively documented smiths in the Tanner orbit. His mark is KJ B (Indian Hand Made Sterling Silver; the J should have no crossbar). Work by Benally may also be marked for Woodard's.

William T. Johnson (Navajo) is recorded in Hougart as sometimes marked for Tanner's Indian Arts.

References

• Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Shops section (Tanner's Indian Arts entry).