Verma Nequatewa — Hopi Silversmith Hallmark

Name card for Verma Nequatewa — T.Skies Silversmith Directory

Name-card placeholder — hallmark imagery to follow.

Hopi · documented in the T.Skies hallmark library

Verma Nequatewa (1949–; Hopi) has been active since the 1960s. Her techniques include channel inlay, cobblestone inlay, silver, and gold. She is a niece of Charles Loloma — the celebrated Hopi master — and along with her sister Sherian Honhongva often assisted Loloma with stonework in his studio.

Loloma taught Verma Nequatewa the basics of design and silversmithing. Until 1993 she shared the corporate mark SONWAI (Hopi for "beauty") with her sister Sherian Honhongva. After 1993 she continued to use SONWAI as her individual mark. Bryson Charles Nequatewa, a Hopi silversmith who works in tufa casting, channel inlay, and stone sets, is her son.

The name SONWAI is now strongly associated with Verma Nequatewa as the successor to her uncle's design legacy.

The mark

"Early butterfly [mark]; SONWAI (and a butterfly) [shared corporate mark with sister Sherian Honhongva until 1993; individual mark thereafter]"

The SONWAI mark appears alone and in combination with a butterfly symbol. Until 1993 it was shared with her sister; she has used it individually since then.

References

Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Entry approx. p. ~21905.
Chalker, 2004 (cited in Hougart 5e).
Cirillo, 1992 (cited in Hougart 5e).

Know more about this artist? Contact T.Skies. See also: Charles Loloma (uncle and teacher).