Charles Loloma — Hopi Artist Who Remade Indian Jewelry
Hallmark documented in: Hougart (Hallmarks), Schaaf (1200 Bios), Hougart (100 Collectible), Dubin (North American Indian Jewelry), Dubin (Glittering World), Wright (Hopi Silver), Rosnek (Skystone & Silver). Rendered from the documented mark, not a photograph.
Hopi (Badger Clan) · Hotevilla, Third Mesa · 1921 – 1991 · Active 1949–1991
The marks
A genuine Loloma is signed LOLOMA — stylized letters built up from multiple chisel strikes, eleven of them, cut directly into the silver or gold. On some early cast work he used an engraver instead of chisels. Gold pieces carry a separate documented Loloma 14K mark. Hougart's reference also illustrates two Loloma marks on pottery — a reminder that he signed clay before he ever signed metal.
Wright's table of guild and shop hallmarks lists a separate mark, Charles Loloma Studio, which she describes as "Reproduction of Charles Loloma's work," in use from 1996 to "present" as of her 2003 revised edition (Wright 2003, p. 113).
Collector's caution — this is the one that gets faked. Hougart documents not one but three distinct fake Loloma marks, each illustrated with a photograph (credited to Arland Ben and Bree Madory). That's the centerpiece of any Loloma authentication: the counterfeits are real, cataloged, and in circulation. It's an old problem — Loloma saw it in his own lifetime, telling a visitor: "People always imitate my stuff. I'll show you anything you want to know but if you really want to do something you'll have to do something distinct that people can recognize." Hougart, citing Hait (1979), puts the stakes plainly: "More than any Indian artist, Loloma's pieces qualify as investments." Where the money goes, the fakes follow. If a piece matters, compare the chisel-struck signature against Hougart's documented examples — genuine and fake — before you pay for the name.
The potter who remade Indian jewelry
Charles Loloma came to metal late, and sideways. He was a ceramicist first — a Hotevilla-born artist who painted murals for the 1939 San Francisco Exposition under René d'Harnoncourt of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, then studied ceramics at Alfred University in New York.
Even the question of when his jewelry began is honestly unsettled. Loloma himself guessed 1947, at Alfred: "I am not versed in the exact date that I started working in jewelry, but my guess is it was in 1947… I was working in pottery and silver." Wright says he became interested in silverwork in 1950, at Shungopavi, teaching under a Whitney Foundation Fellowship — and Wright's hallmark table says 1955. Hougart says about 1956. The likeliest reading: exploratory silver alongside pottery from the late 1940s, and serious jewelry production by the mid-1950s in Scottsdale, where he had opened a ceramics shop in the Kiva Craft Center in 1954 and, in his own words, "started doing more jewelry than pottery."
His training path is the telling detail. The signature Hopi overlay style was developed in 1938 by Paul Saufkie and Fred Kabotie and carried forward by the Guild after the war — but Loloma's line doesn't run through it. Wright records him seeking "the advice and criticism of Fred Sharp, Bob Winston, and Morris Robinson" in Phoenix; Hougart adds that Fred Skaggs, an Anglo modernist who reached Scottsdale in 1956, taught him silversmithing. At first he did only cast work — tufa and wax casting, where the undercuts his designs demanded destroy the mold on every pour, making one-of-a-kind pieces a fact of physics as much as choice.
Then he broke the material rules. In the late 1950s, per Bedinger, Loloma began using gold and precious stones in Indian jewelry — the first, with Preston Monongye, Eddie Beyuka, Kenneth Begay and the Plateros following. Later came exotic woods and fossilized ivory: ironwood, rosewood, lapis, coral, abalone, fire opal, diamond — one buckle rendered "a view of the Hopi mesas with turquoise buildings and an ivory sky." Eveli Sabatie came to the Hopi Reservation in 1968 and, at his urging, spent four years studying and working with him at Hotevilla before leaving in 1972 (Dubin 1999, p. 574). Hougart credits her with influencing the high stone-to-stone channel inlay that became his best-known signature — stones rising off the metal at differing heights. And in 1972, Wright records an innovation entirely his own: mosaic lining the inside of a gold bracelet, worn against the wrist, seen by no one but the wearer.
He kept the work anchored at Hopi. "Hold one of my pieces up to a kachina doll," he said, "and they will fit together very well." And: "This is the primary reason I live up here at Hopi — to be involved with the ceremonial happenings that are our background." After heading the Plastic Arts Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe (1962–64 per Wright; "three years" by his own count), he built a home at Hotevilla and worked from the mesas — no agent, no exclusive dealer; dealers paid full retail and waited.
The shop became a school. His nieces Verma Nequatewa and Sherian Honhongva assisted with stonework for decades; when his health failed, much of the shop's output was theirs. From 1972–73 they marked show pieces SONWAI — Hopi for "beauty" — incorporating in 1989 and splitting the mark in 1993 (Hougart says 1991; Wright's later, more specific account is the better bet). His sister Ramona Loloma Poleyma apprenticed in the late 1970s; a nephew, Bernard Dallasvuyama, started with him before working alone. Documented students include Larry Golsh, Chester Kahn, W. Mason Sr., and Pete Sierra. Wright's verdict stands as the cleanest placement: with Monongye, Loloma "set an example of 'new Indian' or 'new Hopi' jewelry that freed younger smiths from the strictures of a traditional craft while still remaining inherently Hopi."
He put it more simply: "I consider myself an artist and I am Charles Loloma."
References
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), Loloma, Sabatie, Nequatewa, Honhongva, Poleyma, and Skaggs entries; fake-mark plates.
- Rosnek, Carl & Stacey, Joseph. Skystone and Silver: The Collector's Book of Southwest Indian Jewelry (1976), Loloma first-person interview and photo captions.
- Bedinger, Margery. Indian Silver: Navajo and Pueblo Jewelers (1973).
- Dubin, Lois Sherr. North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present (1999), p. 574, Eveli.
- Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. Santa Fe: Treasure Chest Publications, 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1975.
- Turnbaugh, William A., and Sarah Peabody Turnbaugh. Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest. Foreword by Barry M. Goldwater. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2007 (copyright 1996 and 2007; first published 1988). ISBN 0-7643-2577-9. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
- Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003. Originally published by Northland Publishing. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1993. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1993.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.
- Stacey, Joseph, ed. Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest. Arizona Highways Collectors Series. Phoenix: Arizona Highways (Arizona Department of Transportation), 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1975.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Baxter, Paula A., with Allison Bird-Romero. Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry: A Guide to History, People, and Terms. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 2000. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2000.
- Tryk, Sheila. Santa Fe Indian Market: Showcase of Native American Art. Photography by Mark Nohl; introduction by Allan Houser. Santa Fe, NM: Tierra Publications, in cooperation with SWAIA (Southwestern Association on Indian Affairs), 1993. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1993.
From the Library: Branson, Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries (1975)
1975 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1975, not today.
Writing in 1975, while Loloma was still working at Hotevilla, Branson captioned a plate of his bracelets and choker this way:
“The artistry of Hopi master jeweler, Charles Loloma of Hotevilla, Arizona has made a profound impact on the appreciation of contemporary Indian jewelry.”
— Branson (1975), p. 14
Branson (1975) added a note on how recognizable the work already was:
“Each and every piece of his jewelry is different, but one can instantly recognize his creations.”
— Branson (1975), p. 14
From the Library: Turnbaugh, Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest (2007)
2007 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2007, not today.
According to Turnbaugh (2007, p. 73, caption), Loloma first pioneered the "ear of corn" inlay technique in the 1960s, a contemporary version of traditional mosaic inlay that drew directly on prehistoric and early historic jewelry styles; by the late 1980s, the Turnbaughs reported, many other craftsmen were making their own versions of it. [2]
Turnbaugh (2007, p. 71) named Loloma and Preston Monongye as among the first Native silversmiths to venture beyond the established boundaries of their traditional tribal styles, work that by the late 1980s was received in high-fashion circles as "art by Indian artists" rather than simply "Indian art." [2]
From the Library: Wright, Hopi Silver (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
In the Guild Hallmarks table, Wright (2003) described the Charles Loloma Studio mark, listed from 1996, in one line:
“Reproduction of Charles Loloma's work.”
— Wright (2003), p. 113 [3]
According to Wright (2003, p. 93), his sister Ramona Poleyma, of the Badger clan at Hotevilla and aunt of Verma Nequatewa and Sherian Honhongva, made silver from about 1977 to 1978 and marked it with her first name, RAMONA. [3]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry (1993)
1993 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1993, not today.
According to Bassman (1993, p. 2), Loloma, whom she called a student of Fred Kabotie, was in the late 1950s the first to use gold and precious and semiprecious stones, which she wrote completely changed the look of Hopi jewelry. [4] Jacka (1995, p. 33) also writes that "Hopi jeweler Charles Loloma was the first to use rare gems and exotic stones to create colorful collages on sculpturesque gold and silver pieces." [7]
Bassman (1993, p. 5) pictured a cast bracelet with Morenci turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli and ironwood that Loloma made in 1973, beside a belt buckle with turquoise, coral and ironwood that she dated, with a question mark, to 1968. [4]
Bassman (1993, p. 5) also showed 18-carat gold work he made in 1976: a height bracelet with coral, lapis lazuli and turquoise, a ring with a coral stone and earrings with coral and turquoise. [4]
Bassman (1993, p. 6) pictured an 18-carat gold matching set of bracelet, ring, earrings and reversible pendant, set with turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli and pink coral, made in 1988. [4]
Bassman (1993, p. 7) pictured three gold pieces set with what she called Landers Blue spider web turquoise: 18-carat and 14-carat gold rings made in 1975 and an 18-carat gold reversible pendant made in 1988. [4]
Bassman (1993, p. 9) pictured three Loloma rings: a sterling silver height ring with ironwood and turquoise and a sterling ring with a 14-carat gold bezel set with mastodon ivory, turquoise and ironwood, both made in 1973, and a 1983 sterling ring with ivory, turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, charoite and mastodon ivory. [4]
From the Library: Ryan & Chambless, Turquoise in America Part Two: 1910–1990 (2020)
2020 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2020, not today.
Bill Faust recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 172), that when Lovena Ohl started her own gallery in 1977, Charles Loloma went along with her, and that Faust watched Loloma and his niece Verma, known as Sonwai, at work on the Hopi Reservation. [5] Ohl's own advice to him is quoted on her page.
From the Library: Stacey, Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest (1975)
1975 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1975, not today.
Charles Loloma, interviewed on the Hopi Reservation by Wesley Holden for the 1975 Turquoise Blue Book, on why people want his work:
“just the way that it is done is what makes it special. What you see here is a lot of soul.”
— Stacey (1975), p. 80 [6]
Holden (1975) on two famous gifts:
“For example, President Johnson gave one of his gold and turquoise necklaces to the Queen of Denmark, and on another occasion, a pair of Loloma earrings to the wife of the President of the Philippines.”
— Stacey (1975), p. 80 [6]
Loloma in 1975, in his own words, on the inlay inside his pieces:
“This is why I'm doing things like putting the insides in, because I feel like... none of these (his jewelry) are decorated just for surface material.”
— Stacey (1975), p. 80 [6]
From the Library: Jacka, Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (1995)
1995 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1995, not today.
According to Jacka (1995, p. 53), the Navajo jeweler Jesse Monongya made a crown-shaped bracelet as a tribute to Loloma, "the King of the Jewelers," with designs on the underside honoring him as the originator of that innovation. [7]
From the Library: Baxter, Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry (2000)
2000 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2000, not today.
Baxter (2000) dated his move into gold:
“Charles Loloma (1921-1991, Hopi) is frequently credited with being the first Southwestern native artist to work with gold, probably around 1953.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 61 [8]
Baxter (2000) on his place in Hopi jewelry:
“Loloma, from Third Mesa, emerged in the late 1950s to redirect Hopi jewelry-making into unique lapidary explorations.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 72 [8]
Baxter (2000) dated his first work in gold:
“Loloma was one of the first Southwestern native jewelers to work effectively with gold, probably around 1953.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 100 [8]
Baxter (2000) recorded one of his signatures:
“Favored motifs included Corn Maidens, katsinas, and hidden designs made in the undersides of bracelets and pendants to reflect the “hidden” beauty of their owners.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 100 [8]
Baxter (2000) dated his IAIA years:
“Teaching at various colleges since 1955, he played an important role in the creation of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he founded and headed the Plastic Arts Department from 1962 to 1965.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 101 [8]
Baxter, in her 2000 encyclopedia, described how he used his clan symbol:
“Charles Loloma’s (1921-1991, Hopi) use of his badger clan symbol, the badger paw, is a well-known example of a clan emblem used as a jewelry hallmark.”
— Baxter (2000), p. 32 [8]
From the Library: Tryk, Santa Fe Indian Market (1993)
1993 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1993, not today.
Writing in 1993, two years after his death, Tryk judged:
“Perhaps the best known Indian jeweler of this century was Charles Loloma, a Hopi, whose innovative and colorful designs inspired thousands of jewelers, including many non-Indians.”
— Tryk (1993), p. 76 [9]
Tryk (1993) on what he told his students:
“He taught students at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) that they didn't have to chain themselves to silver and turquoise, and that their boundaries were only the limits of their own imaginations and expertise.”
— Tryk (1993), p. 78 [9]
Tryk, writing in 1993, recorded how his jewelry was first received:
“Yet when he first began making jewelry, his work was turned down — because it wasn't "Indian" enough.”
— Tryk (1993), p. 78 [9]
Tryk (1993, p. 52) pictured a silver lizard pin Loloma made around 1950, inlaid with turquoise, coral and rycolite, as an early point in the development of his style. [9]
Field Notes by Mateo James
Our page traces Loloma's silver training to smiths in Phoenix and Scottsdale, outside the Kabotie and Saufkie line. Bassman, writing in 1993, calls him a student of Fred Kabotie but does not say what he studied with him. The two may describe different lessons, so I show both as printed.
This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and compiled from published references. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.
Studio collaborator (1968–72): Eveli Sabatie
Our page gives 1962-64 for Loloma's years heading the Plastic Arts Department, following Wright, along with his own count of three years. Baxter's 2000 encyclopedia gives 1962 to 1965. I show both as printed.