Allison Lee — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Navajo (Diné) silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Allison Lee, a Navajo silversmith, was profiled in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: Snowhawk, a shopmark he used from 1988 to about 1990; Hougart also records A. LEE, ALLISON LEE, and his name spelled out between half wings (Bahti (2007, p. 86); Hougart (2022)).
From the Library: Bahti, Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers (2007)
A 2007 profile, reviewed and corrected by the artists themselves before publication. Anything described as current describes 2006-2007, not today.
According to Bahti (2007, p. 83), Allison Lee was born in 1958 in Mexican Springs, New Mexico, and started silversmithing at fourteen, helping his mother and his uncle, Emerson Etsitty Sr., make squash-blossom necklaces by filing and soldering beads. [1]
Allison Lee described that bead work to Bahti (2007):
“The bead halves were pre-soldered. That is, each half had a bit of solder melted on the rim.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 83 [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 83) reported that he took silversmithing classes at Tohatchi High School and, from his sophomore summer, worked in Gallup shops including Richardson's Trading Co., Thunderbird and James Rogers Silversmiths. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 85), after designing for the Eclissi watch company in El Paso from 1981, he returned to Mexican Springs in 1984 and built a line of 'critter pins'; he began working in gold in 1986 and first entered Santa Fe Indian Market the following year. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 86), in 1988 he opened a shop in Albuquerque under the name Snowhawk, which he also used as a shopmark, and in 1990 closed it to focus on his own work. [1]
Sources
- Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Cited for the recorded hallmark.
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