Monty Claw — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Hallmark documented in: Hougart. Rendered from the documented mark, not a photograph.
Monty Claw (born 1977) is a Navajo silversmith and multi-disciplinary artist — also a painter and feather artist — who works across multiple jewelry-making styles. The Hougart record documents his techniques as: fabricated work, cast work, hammer-stamp work, wire appliqué, channel inlay, some reversible jewelry, diamond settings, and fossilized ivory. He makes his own stamps, indicating a high degree of self-sufficiency and originality in his craft.
Claw is the father of fellow artist Elle Claw, establishing a generational thread within the family tradition. The Claw family name appears elsewhere in Hougart's hallmark reference (Bertha Claw is documented; Jesse Claw is recorded in a separate batch entry).
The Mark
""M CLAW (may also have an owl image in honor of his great, great grandfather — a silversmith — whose name was Owl)" — Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022)."
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
The primary mark is M CLAW. Our reference library records that the mark may incorporate an owl image — a tribute to a great-great-grandfather named Owl who was himself a silversmith, grounding Claw's mark in multi-generational family heritage.
Know more about this artist? Contact T.Skies.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. 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.