Robert Lomadapki — Hopi Silversmith
Robert Lomadapki, known as Bob, let the design carry the piece. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, wrote that his work "relies upon the strength of the design itself in silver and black. He works with heavy-gauge silver and often a single piece of turquoise" (Wright 2003, p. 67).
Wright records that he studied at Northern Arizona University and began silverwork at Hotevilla in 1964 (Wright 2003, p. 82). In Flagstaff he worked with Duane Maktima and the Navajo smith Victor Beck in a program sponsored by the Museum of Northern Arizona, with Jake Brookins as mentor (Wright 2003, p. 67).
Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry shows the range of his forms: a belt buckle with water symbols, a lightning bracelet, and a cast bracelet with Tibetan turquoise made in 1991 (Bassman 1993, pp. 16, 38). Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as Hopi, 1942 to 2015, and notes that he was named an Arizona Indian Living Treasure (Hougart 2022, p. 191). Hougart's 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths and Their Hallmarks dates that honor to 2008, and records that he later "served as scholar and educator in Applied Indigenous Studies at Northern Arizona University" (Hougart 2020).
His hallmark
Hougart gives his marks as "Lomadapki Hopi; Lomadapki Joshweseoma (various versions; script)" (Hougart 2022, p. 191).
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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.
- Hougart, Bille. 100 Collectible Native American Silversmiths and Their Hallmarks. TBR International, 2020.
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.