Loren Panteah — Zuni Silversmith
Zuni silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Loren Panteah, a Zuni jeweler, was profiled with his wife, Yolanda Laate, in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
No hallmark is recorded for this artist in our sources yet. If you have a signed piece, we would love to see the mark.
From the Library: Bahti, Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers (2007)
A 2007 profile, reviewed and corrected by the artists themselves before publication. Anything described as current describes 2006-2007, not today.
According to Bahti (2007, p. 130), Loren Panteah (b. 1960), born into his mother's Badger Clan and his father's Bear Clan, learned jewelry-making from his mother, Susie Laweka, and began with clusterwork, the style his mother and her parents made. [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 130) reported that he remembered soldering as the hardest skill to master. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 133), in his joint work with his wife, Yolanda Laate, Loren did the drilling and the silverwork. [1]
After a trader had their designs copied around 1992, Loren Panteah told Bahti (2007):
“We started thinking of protecting our own designs.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 133 [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 133) reported that Loren helped bring Zuni design protection before the tribal council, and that in January 2006 he was one of three commissioners appointed to implement the Certification for Zuni Made Arts and Crafts Ordinance. [1]
Family in the directory: Yolanda Laate
Sources
- 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 Loren? Contact T.Skies.
This profile is maintained in support of Native American silversmiths and is compiled from published sources, cited above. See something inaccurate, or want to add to it? Contact us.