Bryant Waatsa Sr. — Zuni Silversmith
Zuni silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Bryant Waatsa Sr., a Zuni silversmith, was profiled in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
No hallmark is recorded for this artist in our sources yet. If you have a signed piece, we would love to see the mark.
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.
As Bryant Waatsa Sr. told Bahti (2007):
“It was a few years before the war I started making needlepoint jewelry. I'm the original one.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 192 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 190), Bryant Waatsa was born into the Crow Clan at Zuni in 1918 and learned silverwork and turquoise cutting from his father; when his father died, when Bryant was about fifteen, during the Great Depression, he took over making jewelry, and his first piece was a bracelet set with a row of round-cut turquoise. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 190), he sold to the old-time Zuni traders, including Ed Kelsey, the Vanderwagens and C. G. Wallace, mostly on special order, furnishing his own silver and turquoise. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 192), his earliest needlepoint had the tiny silver drops set to the inside, between the knife-like bezels, and after World War II he began setting them to the outside edge; his late wife, Esther, did the turquoise cutting while he did the silverwork. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 193), he began to sign his work during the boom of the mid-1970s, at the request of the traders he worked with. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 192), as of 2007 his sons Duwayne and Evan made jewelry full-time, Bryant Jr. worked silver occasionally, son Robbie cut stones for his father's work, and grandson Lance was making jewelry too. [1]
Family in the directory: Duwayne Waatsa
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.
Know more about Bryant? Contact T.Skies.
This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and is compiled from published sources, cited above. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.