Ric Charlie — Navajo/Diné Silversmith
Hallmark documented in: Hougart, Schaaf (1200 Bios). Rendered from the documented mark, not a photograph.
Ric Charlie is a Navajo silversmith born in 1959, active since the 1970s. The Hougart record documents his work in tufa casting, multiple stone sets, silver, gold, and multi-colored surfaces. He also works in channel inlay and collaborates with Darryl Dean Begay. He is a multiple award winner and received the 2007 Santa Fe Indian Market Best-of-Jewelry award.
Our reference library notes that a student of Ric Charlie — identified with initials TR C (part of cast) — is documented separately in Hougart, indicating his influence as a teacher within the tufa-casting tradition.
The Mark
"C (early mark); RC (conjoined, usually part of the casting, since 1974); R Charlie"
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
— Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022).
Three mark variants are recorded across his career: an early single-letter C mark, the conjoined RC (typically cast directly into the piece since 1974), and the full name form R Charlie.
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From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry (1997)
1997 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1997, not today.
Bassman (1997) pictured a tufa-cast bola tie by Ric Charlie:
“Tufa cast bola tie of two lizards and an inlaid turtle of oxblood and salmon coral, lapis lazuli, and turquoise.”
— Bassman (1997), p. 55 [1]
From the Library: Jacka, Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (1995)
1995 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1995, not today.
Ric Charlie, speaking to Jacka in 1995:
“Everything I do is cast, and 99 percent of them are one-of-a-kind.”
— Jacka (1995), p. 55 [2]
On why each mold is carved anew, he told her in 1995:
“The mold is ruined when I pull out the finished piece, so a new one has to be carved each time.”
— Jacka (1995), p. 55 [2]
From the Library: Schaaf, American Indian Jewelry I (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
Schaaf (2003) dated his marks:
“stamps C, first used in 1973; R inside script C, first used in 1974 and is now often cast as part of the piece”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 110 [4]
Schaaf (2003, p. 110) recorded the Raymond G. Dewey, Sr. Memorial Award for excellence in tufa casting at the 1986 Indian Market among his many prizes, and listed his work in the collection of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. [4]
Schaaf (2003, p. 125) named Ric Charlie, with the young caster's parents, as a teacher of Mark Roanhorse Crawford. [4]
Sources
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1997.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. Washington, DC: BilleHougartBooks, 2022.
- Schaaf, Gregory, with Angie Yan Schaaf. American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies, ca. 1800-present. American Indian Art Series, Vol. 5. Santa Fe: CIAC Press, 2003. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2003.
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.