Darryl Dean Begay — Navajo/Diné Silversmith & Hallmark
Hallmark of Darryl Dean Begay. © Turquoise Skies Inc.
Active since the 1990s, Darryl Dean Begay (1973–) is a Navajo silversmith working in both traditional and contemporary modes. His practice encompasses sculpture, stylized motifs, figural work, tufa casting, cuttlefish bone casting, carved turquoise, inlay, and work in silver and gold.
He is married to Rebecca Begay and is the father of Nathan and Robert W. Begay. He is a brother of Philander Begay.
Begay received his training from Kenneth Begay and the late Vernon Tracy (?–2015); he also collaborated at times with Ric Charlie and Alvin Yellowhorse. He is a recipient of the 2002 SWAIA Goodman Fellowship and the 2009 SWAIA Best-In-Show award.
At some point he lost his original arrowhead stamp and replaced it with a revised version — an arrowhead containing the letter D and a star inside.
The Mark
“DD B, part of casting …”
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
See also: Kenneth Begay (teacher).
In Motion
Meet Darryl Dean Begay on camera — this is T.Skies’ own footage, filmed firsthand. The feature below is “Meet Darryl Dean Begay Navajo Jeweler and Tufacast Artist”; more clips follow underneath.
More footage: Apache Blue Turquoise Darryl Dean Begay tskies.com · Lone Mountain Turquoise Darryl Dean Begay · Turquoise Grading Darryl Dean Begay Navajo jewelry artist
Know more about this artist? Contact T.Skies.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
From the Library: Schaaf, American Indian Jewelry I (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
According to Schaaf (2003, p. 73), Darryl Dean Begay named Raymond Yazzie as his teacher and had himself taught nine students from Rehoboth Christian High School; as of 2003 his work was in the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, and in November 2002 the Indian Craft Shop of the Department of the Interior in Washington named him its Artist of the Month. [1]
Darryl Begay told Schaaf (2003) what he wanted his work to do:
“I wish to show my culture like a historian through my art”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 74 [1]
Field Notes by Mateo James
I notice the books name different teachers. This page, following Hougart, names Kenneth Begay and Vernon Tracy, while Schaaf's 2003 entry names Raymond Yazzie. I show both.
Sources
- 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.
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.