Johnny Rosetta — Kewa (Santo Domingo) Silversmith

Johnny Rosetta took his parents' liquid silver into gold. Paula A. Baxter's Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry records that the first liquid silver necklaces were made by his parents, Ray and Mary Rosetta, of Santo Domingo Pueblo, in the 1950s, and that "Their son Johnny developed the original liquid gold necklace in 1972, from 18- and 22-karat gold" (Baxter 2000, p. 99). Its entry on his parents credits Johnny and his wife, Marlene Rosetta, with developing liquid gold bead jewelry together (Baxter 2000, p. 154), and its entry on Santo Domingo jewelry lists "Johnny and Marlene Rosetta" among the pueblo's artist families (Baxter 2000, p. 156).

Marsha Mayer Lund's Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy counted Johnny and Marlene, with his parents, as "still the primary sources of this art form" in 1976 (Lund 1976, p. 131). Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone records Johnny's death in 2003, in the chapter on his brother, Nick Rosetta, whose wife is Me-Wee Rosetta (Bahti 2007, p. 142).

His hallmark

Lund records that Ray, Mary, Johnny and Marlene all signed their work "Rosetta" on the cone portion of their necklaces, and that Johnny reported a further signature: at least one piece of coral in every liquid silver necklace they made (Lund 1976, p. 131). Baxter adds that Rosetta pieces may carry small initials on the cones, "RMR" or "JMR" (Baxter 2000, p. 154).