Mary Weebothee — Zuni Silversmith

Mary Weebothee did the stonework; her husband, Lee Weebothee, did the silver. Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists her as "Mary Weebothee (1934-1995; Zuni)," active from the 1940s until 1995 in cluster work, some nugget work, set stones, mosaic inlay and snake eye sets, records that "Mary did the stonework in collaboration with husband Lee who did the silver work," and calls her a "Multiple award winner" (Hougart 2022, p. 333).

Writers noticed the cluster work early. Margery Bedinger's Indian Silver wrote in 1973 that "Lee and Mary Weebothee of Zuni are famous for their cabochon-cut clusterwork" (Bedinger 1973, p. 194). In Joseph Stacey's Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest, Preston Monongye singled out the couple's "very fine cluster work," refined into cabochon cuts (Stacey 1975, p. 76), and the same book shows a turquoise pendant and earrings "completely hand wrought by Zuni master jewelsmiths, Lee and Mary Weebothee" (Stacey 1975, p. 37).

Theda and Michael Bassman's Zuni Jewelry shows a cluster bola tie and belt buckle of coral with silver drops that she and Lee made in 1970, and a set of all-coral clusters from the 1980s (Bassman and Bassman 2006, p. 37), along with their rings and pendants in collections of 1991 (Bassman and Bassman 2006, pp. 15, 60). Nancy N. Schiffer's Turquoise Jewelry shows a cast silver ring with oval nuggets and three inlays by the couple, 1989 (Schiffer 2008, p. 41).

Her hallmark

Mary had no mark of her own. Hougart gives the stamps she shared with Lee as LEE & MARY, LEE/MARY ZUNI, Lee/Mary ZUNI and L/M W (script) (Hougart 2022, p. 333).