Riley Polequaptewa — Hopi Silversmith
Riley Polequaptewa began silverwork at Shungopavi in 1972, according to Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, which spells the name Polyquaptewa (Wright 2003, p. 86).
Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry shows a pin with a sun-face design he made in 1980 (Bassman 1993, p. 12), and a ring and a pendant under the spelling Polyquaptewa (Bassman 1993, p. 37). Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as Hopi, working in overlay and active since the 1970s (Hougart 2022, p. 253).
His hallmark
Wright indexes two of his marks as "Bear Claws" (Wright 2003, p. 115); the second is dated 1989 in his row (Wright 2003, p. 86). Hougart gives his marks as "R; R P; a bear claw" (Hougart 2022, p. 253).
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References
- Wright, Margaret Nickelson. Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing. Revised edition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1993.
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks: Silversmiths, Designers, Guilds and Traders. 5th edition. 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.
From the Library: Schaaf, American Indian Jewelry I (2003)
2003 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2003, not today.
Schaaf (2003) entered him as
“Riley Polequaptewa (hallmark - bear claws, R or RP)”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 259 [4]
Schaaf (2003, p. 259) recorded Riley Polequaptewa as Hopi, active from about 1972 in silver overlay at Shungopavi, the father of Alaric Polequaptewa, with his work in the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. [4]
Schaaf's 2003 hallmark index gives RP to five makers:
“RP (Richard Pawiki, Rose Pino, Rosalie Pinto, Robert Platero, Riley Polequaptewa)”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 250 [4]
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.