Silas Ohmsatte
Name-card placeholder — hallmark imagery to follow.
Overview
Silas Ohmsatte (born 1939) was a Zuni smith active from the 1970s into the 1990s. Hougart prints his death year as "199?" — the decade is documented, the year is not, and we won't guess it. His documented work is inlay in silver and gold, with flowers, birds, and other animals as recurring subjects.
He worked alongside his wife Berdie Ohmsatte, sharing most of his stamps with her. Their son Emery Ohmsatte is a documented smith in his own right.
Collector's caution: Silas Ohmsatte shared most of his stamps with his wife, Berdie Ohmsatte — including the S & B marks. A shared stamp cannot tell you which of the two made a given piece; read the mark together with the work's technique (his entry records inlay, hers mosaic inlay) and hold single-name attributions loosely. Berdie's page carries the same caution.
The Mark
"Silas Ohmsatte (1939-199?; Zuni). Active 1970s-199? Inlay; silver, gold; flowers, birds and other animals. Silas Ohmsatte shared most of the stamps with his wife Berdie Ohmsatte. Marks: S & B (and a symbol above); S & B OHMSATTE; S & B [remaining mark tails garbled in scan]"
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), entry at approx. scan line 22323.
The marks as documented in the Hougart corpus: S & B (and a symbol above); S & B OHMSATTE; S & B; Silas O. (script) — most shared with his wife Berdie Ohmsatte. The final script-mark reading comes through a garbled passage in the scan.
References - Hougart, Bille. *Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks*, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Entry at approx. scan line 22323.
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