Chester Yellowhair — Navajo/Diné Silversmith Hallmark
Navajo/Diné · documented in the T.Skies hallmark library
Chester Yellowhair (1912–?; Navajo) was a student of Ambrose Roanhorse. He and Roanhorse were instrumental in forming the Navajo Arts and Crafts Guild. Yellowhair worked as a silversmith at Bell Trading Post and Southwest Arts and Crafts, and as a silversmith instructor at the Indian schools in Albuquerque and Fort Wingate.
In 1940, John Adair, on behalf of the IACB (Indian Arts and Crafts Board), ordered four heavy bracelets from Chester Yellowhair to be placed in the sample room in connection with an exhibition held in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The bracelets were to be numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 with the initials "C Y."
The Hougart record further notes that Roanhorse and Yellowhair helped form the Guild. Chester Yellowhair served on a committee that helped form the Guild and went on to establish Guild centers in various locations (per the broader Hougart narrative). The Hougart chronological narrative also documents that the two were "borrowed" from the Albuquerque Indian School in 1937 for Guild-formation activities.
The mark
The mark is recorded as "C Y" — the initials Chester Yellowhair used on Guild-commissioned pieces.
References
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
- Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. University of Oklahoma Press, 1944. (Cited in Hougart context, p. 10.)
- Schaaf, Gregory, with Angie Yan Schaaf. American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies, ca. 1800-present. American Indian Art Series, Vol. 5. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2003. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
Know more about this artist? Contact T.Skies. See also: Ambrose Roanhorse (teacher and Guild co-founder).
From the Library: Schaaf, American Indian Jewelry I (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
Schaaf (2003, p. 193) named Chester Yellowhair as the teacher of the Hopi smith Marshall Jenkins, active from about 1939 to 1982, who used a bear-claw hallmark from 1967. [1]
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.
Name card shown; hallmark photo to come.