Della James — Navajo Silversmith
Della James and Francis James are credited together in these books. Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry shows their squash blossom necklaces with cast najas from the 1960s (Bassman 1997, p. 15), and a silver cast bracelet with four coral stones from the 1970s that "won First Prize at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1979" (Bassman 1997, p. 17).
Joseph Stacey's Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest shows a necklace and earring set in gold and turquoise "by Francis and Della James" (Stacey 1975, p. 41), and a squash blossom in 14K gold with Persian turquoise credited to "Mr. and Mrs. Francis James" (Stacey 1975, p. 40).
Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists her as "Della James (Navajo)," active since the 1970s, working in "Necklaces; sand casting; set stones; silver, gold," and notes that she "shares the stamp with her husband Francis James" (Hougart 2022, p. 153).
Her hallmark
Hougart gives the shared mark as "J F (conjoined)" (Hougart 2022, pp. 153–154).
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References
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997.
- Stacey, Joseph, ed. Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest. Arizona Highways Collectors Series. Phoenix: Arizona Highways, 1975.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks: Silversmiths, Designers, Guilds and Traders. 5th edition. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
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.