Edison Vicenti
Overview
Edison Vicenti (born 1945) is a Zuni artist working cluster work, petit point, inlay and set stones — layered pieces with textured surfaces.
He collaborates with his wife Jennie Vicenti, who has no directory page yet; their documented mark is the joint script signature 'Ed & Jennie Vicenti'.
Collector's caution: the 'Ed & Jennie Vicenti' script signature marks collaborative work — Hougart documents that Edison Vicenti collaborates with his wife Jennie Vicenti, and her own entry adds that she sometimes co-stamps with him. A jointly signed piece cannot be attributed to one hand alone on the signature's evidence.
The Mark
"Edison Vicenti (1945-; Zuni). Cluster work; petit point; inlay; set stones; layered, with textured surfaces. Edison Vicenti collaborates with his wife Jennie Vicenti. Mark: Ed & Jennie Vicenti (script)"
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
The mark as documented in Hougart's hallmark reference: Ed & Jennie Vicenti (script) — a joint signature with his wife Jennie Vicenti.
References
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
- 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 this artist? Contact T.Skies.
From the Library: Bahti, Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers (2007)
2007 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2007, not today.
According to Bahti (2007, p. 185), Edison Vicenti's mother made cluster and petit-point jewelry in her early years, though he did not learn silverwork from her, and the family's silversmithing reached back to his maternal grandparents' clan uncle, whom Bahti names as the first Zuni to work silver. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 186), Edison studied electronics at New Mexico Highlands University, then worked for IBM for twenty-eight years as an engineer-designer while the couple kept making jewelry. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 187), early in their work together Edison did the stonecutting and Jennie the silver (roles that later reversed), and it was Edison who, by accident, came up with the long, domed stone pointed at each end that took the couple from petit point into needlepoint. [1]
Speaking to Bahti (2007), Ed Vicenti credited Jennie with the designs:
“She would make the prototype, and I made the copies.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 189 [1]
As Ed Vicenti told Bahti (2007) about their 1979 move to Tucson and its gem show and lapidary club:
“Jennie got involved in faceting gems, and we learned inlay work.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 189 [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.