New to me necklace & pendant ~ who is Ivan V?

[RedlandMaggie]

So a bit ago I bid and won a necklace on ShopGoodwill (price was higher than I normally would go but this reminded me of a necklace my grandmother had when I was a kid before her NA jewelry was stolen in a robbery). Both the beads and pendant have significant heft to them (no clue as to what the turquoise is) and I get a feeling it may have been made sometime in the 70’s, but I cannot find any info on Ivan V other than google tells me he made his pieces in both 14k and sterling.

Who is/was he? Anyone have any idea? I see that his name has cropped up a couple of times here, but that’s about it. No mention in my Schaaf books under that hallmark.
The underlying chain has stretched a bit, so not sure if I should have the whole thing restrung and soldered on new sterling chain, or let it be.

[Patina]

@RedlandMaggie Glad you won this beauty. That’s a great necklace and a gorgeous turquoise cab. I haven’t heard of “Ivan V” before but I’ll do some research. (Can’t help but wonder if it’s Ivan 5 .) As long as the necklace isn’t in jeopardy of breaking, I wouldn’t have it restrung. Just my nickel’s worth.

[Patina]

@RedlandMaggie Soooo, a little online research turned up quite a few pieces hallmarked IVAN V. Internet speculation is that Ivan is Navajo. Honestly, the jewelry looks NA to me but I’m leaving room for artisan made. And to boot, the 1stdibs website sold a 14k yellow gold turquoise cuff - you guessed it - hallmarked IVAN V. Somebody out there Has to know who the heck IVAN V really is, or was.

[fernwood]

Beautiful necklace.
This is the best I found on jewelry marked Ivan V.

An Antiquers forum thread.

Nice little Navajo pendant... IVAN V. | Antiques Board

[Steve]

who is/was IVAN V on Native American southwest style jewelry?

It turns out “IVAN V” is a bit of a mystery hallmark in the world of Southwestern / Native American jewelry, and even seasoned collectors haven’t pinned down a confirmed identity.

Here’s what the search results and collector discussions reveal:

What we do know

• Collectors have found multiple pieces—rings, cuffs, pendants—signed “IVAN V”, often with turquoise and sometimes even 14k gold.

• The style is Navajo, and the work appears to date from the 1960s–1970s according to experienced collectors on the Antiques Board.

• A discussion among jewelry experts notes that no one has been able to match the hallmark to a documented silversmith, despite checking major hallmark references.

What we don’t know

• There is no verified listing for “Ivan V” in:

  • Barton Wright’s hallmark books

  • Schaaf’s American Indian Jewelry I & II

  • Hopi/Navajo/Zuni hallmark databases

• No tribal affiliation, shop association, or family lineage has been confirmed.

Most likely explanation

Based on the pieces and the era, collectors suspect:

• A Navajo silversmith active in the mid‑20th century,

• Possibly someone who worked for a trading post or shop and never registered a hallmark,

• Or a maker whose work circulated regionally but never entered the major reference books.

This is surprisingly common—hundreds of mid‑century Native jewelers were never formally documented, especially those producing for shops rather than under their own names.

[Patina]

I had begun to wonder if IVAN V could be a shop mark, but when I saw the 14K gold cuff, with that hallmark on 1stdibs, it kinda threw a wrench in that idea. (Though the 14k gold cuff looks flimsy to me. The turquoise is nice.)

[Steve]

Date created

1974-1975

Culture/People

Diné (Navajo)

Artist/Maker

Ivan V., Diné (Navajo)

Previous owner

Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Department of the Interior (IACB), 1935-

IACB Source

Hecht’s Department Store (The Hecht Company)

Collection History

Purchased by Indian Arts and Crafts Board representatives from Hecht’s Department Store (Washington, DC) in 1975; part of the IACB Headquarters collection (Department of the Interior, Washington, DC) until 2000 when it was transferred to NMAI.

Contact Us

Have a concern, a correction, or something to add? Contact us: NMAI Statement | National Museum of the American Indian

Place

Arizona or New Mexico; USA (inferred)

See related items

Diné (Navajo)

Adornment/Jewelry

Data Source

National Museum of the American Indian

Catalog Number

26/1145

Barcode

261145.000

Object Type

Adornment/Jewelry

Object Name

Necklace with pendant

Media/Materials

Silver, turquoise, silver bead/beads, metal jewelry findings

Techniques

Hammered, bezel-set/stone-setting, twisted, soldered, strung

Dimensions

31.5 x 5.1 x 1.2 cm

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ws6de60118a-0981-4821-be5b-44f79f7c7ca1

Record ID

NMAI_277241

source: https://americanindian.si.edu/collections-search/object/NMAI_277241

edit to add: google response when challenged for proof.

Minor Discrepancies

Although the vast majority of expert sources list him as Navajo, some older secondary market listings occasionally misattribute his work as Zuni or Apache. This is often due to the specific motifs he uses, such as the “Apache Gaan Dancer” or “Maiden Kachina” imagery, which are shared across Southwest cultures. However, the NMAI museum attribution is considered the most authoritative proof of his Diné heritage.

[Ziacat]

This artist has been discussed in several older threads on here, but if I remember correctly, no conclusions.

Pretty necklace! So sad to have your grandmother’s jewelry stolen. What is wrong with people! I’m glad you found this one.

[RedlandMaggie]

Thanks everyone (@Steve you are a supersleuth)! A few pieces survived of my grandmother’s (or were purchased later on their annual snowbird trips to Arizona and New Mexico), so this one when I saw it really rang a bell (she had some gorgeous necklaces she’d wear when we were kids).
We had to be very careful when packing up my grandparents house to sell once they had passed as my grandmother hid jewelry all over the house as a result of the robbery, so you really had to inspect everything (I found stuff in the Christmas ornament boxes in the basement for example).

I’ve managed to find all the makers of the pieces I have that are hallmarked, but this one had me stumped. I really like how the silver beads are placed - looks cool when wearing it, and it’s fairly long, I could possibly take someone out if I turned around too fast as the pendant is heavy .

[Bluelover]

I’m new here. What is NA? Thanks!

[Ziacat]

It means Native American. Welcome to Turquoise People!

[Patina]

Hi ~ NA stands for Native American.

[RedlandMaggie]

I have found that with its length, I have to be careful when I sit down at the table as the pendant tends to whack the edge when I sit - I’d rather not take a big chip out of the stone

[chamekke]

Assuming the “V” in “Ivan V” is the first letter of his surname, that seems to limit the field a bit. Out of curiosity I did some searching on Navajo surnames starting with V but didn’t come up with much. However, Bille Hougart (4th edition) has the following V-surnames listed for assorted Navajo artists: Valdez, Vanderver, Vanderwagon, Vandever, Vandover, Vaughn and Vincent. I am sure there are other surnames beginning with V-, but these might be worth keeping in mind.

(For example, I found an Ivan Vandever (1963-1993) on Find A Grave, but I think he is likely out of scope considering the dates. And of course there’s no indication that he was a silver artist.)

[Bluelover]

Thank you so much. It seems like I really should’ve known that