Frieda Santiago — Hopi Silversmith
Frieda Santiago learned by watching. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, tells it this way: "In the late 1930s, Frieda Santiago, a young woman from Oraibi, watched her relative, Willie Coin, work on his silver. She learned various techniques and then moved to Flagstaff, where she married a Zuni man. The two of them made Zuni-style jewelry in Flagstaff for a time and then moved elsewhere in Arizona, but continued to supply jewelry to dealers until about 1964" (Wright 2003, p. 21).
Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists her as Hopi, 1913 to 1989, working in "Multiple styles. Set stones; shadow box; cast work," and dates her work from about 1930 to the mid-1960s (Hougart 2022, p. 276). Wright dates her start to the late 1930s (Wright 2003, p. 77).
Her hallmark
Her marks were shared with her husband, Sylvester E. Santiago, so a piece carrying them is joint work. Wright labels one "Corn" (Wright 2003, p. 77). Hougart gives the marks as "Z and an ear of corn; FNS HOPI ZUNI SES" (Hougart 2022, p. 276).
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References
- Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
- 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.