I’ve read about the Hopi Silvercraft Guild and the Sunface stamp, and the later Sekaquaptewa’s Hopicraft and their stamp. Recently, while reading a well respected book on Hopi silver jewelry, I read that Phillip Honani trained with Hopicraft. Wright’s “Hopi Silver” also states Honani learned at Hopicraft. Interestingly my pendant/pin by Honani has Honani’s hallmark along with the Hopi Guild Sunface. Logically I’ve always assumed he trained at the Guild. Can the sunface stamp be in error, or like so many things, are hallmark stamps to be taken with a grain of salt.
Here’s the hallmarks, any of you Hopi lovers have any thoughts?
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Is there a reason he couldn’t have been associated with both? Wasn’t the Guild more of a training program and cooperative for artists to get resources and Hopicrafts more of an enterprise that hired artists?
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That’s what I wondered also. My book, Hopi Silver - History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing, did mention that many smiths trained at Hopicrafts, but implied that it was started primarily as a business. Interestingly, it also said that the formation of Hopicrafts caused some hard feelings for awhile. According to Hopi Silver, the guild was formed with the purpose to, “produce, purchase, and sell handcrafts and to operate related activities,” so it seems like the guild was more than a training program. Could an artist have been associated with both programs at different times, and then used the corresponding mark?
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Thanks for your thoughts @AZBoots and @Ziacat. I haven’t read that Hopicrafts hired their smiths, but it was a private enterprise, so that makes sense. Honani certainly could have been involved with both, just interesting that he didn’t use the Hopicrafts hallmark. Hopicrafts began operation much later, in the early 1960s, and was more of a private enterprise that trained silversmiths. Evidently those trained at Hopicrafts produced excellent quality jewelry.
Since I’ve read that the Guild served as an outlet for Hopi jewelry until “about 2000”, It would be interesting to know how long actual classes were held at the Guild, had how long the Guild stamps were uses. I know when we were there in the late 1990’s the Guild building was open, but there was only minimal and low quality work available.
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Could we see the front?
@SherriD, oh I’m sorry…should have included the front! Here ya go:
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This is beautiful! Very nice piece.
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