Description

The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths provides a full history of the craft and the actual names and localities of the pioneer craftsmen who introduced the art of the silversmith to their people. Despite its present high stage of development, with its many subtle and often exquisite designs, the art of working silver is not an ancient one among the Navajo and Pueblo Indians. There are men still living today who remember the very first silversmiths.

Mr. Adair gives full details, as he observed them, of the methods and techniques of manufacture over a primitive forge with homemade tools. He tells both of the fine pieces made for trade among the Indians themselves and of the newer, cheaper types of jewelry produced for sale to tourists. He discusses standards and qualities of Indian silver and describes the work of the Indian schools in helping preserve traditional design in the fine silver of today. His excellent photographs of some of the most notable pieces, old and new, provide examples for evaluation. This volume, therefore, will serve the layman, the ethnologist, and the dealer alike as a guide to proper values in Indian silver jewelry, and will provide the basis for authoritative knowledge and appreciation of a highly skilled creative art.