Nancy Edaakie — Zuni Silversmith
Zuni silversmith. Profiled in Mark Bahti’s Silver + Stone (2007).
Nancy Edaakie, a Zuni jeweler, was profiled with her husband, Dennis Edaakie, in Mark Bahti's Silver + Stone (2007).
The Mark
Recorded mark: DENNIS AND NANCY EDAAKIE, from about 1983, shared with her husband, Dennis (Bahti (2007, p. 46); Hougart (2022)).
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. 44), Nancy Edaakie was born into the Frog Clan in 1937 and did not begin making jewelry until after she and Dennis married in 1954. [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 44) described the couple's inlay: the design is cut out of one sheet of silver and overlaid onto another solid sheet, and the recessed area is set with stone and shell. [1]
As Dennis Edaakie told Bahti (2007) of their early collaboration:
“When I got into birds she was doing the flowers and leaves and stuff like that. Later on she learned to make birds.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 46 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 46), their hallmark changed to reflect her part in the work: from the parrot-beak hallmark (1965), to DENNIS E (around 1970), and finally DENNIS AND NANCY EDAAKIE (from about 1983 on). [1]
Bahti (2007, p. 46) noted that Nancy recalled hummingbird and apple-blossom designs among the ideas suggested by their dealer Ruth Ingram. [1]
Family in the directory: Dennis Edaakie · Dale (Myron) Edaakie
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.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2022. Cited for the recorded hallmark.
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