Roger Skeet — Navajo/Diné Silversmith Hallmark
Roger Skeet's hallmark as photographed on an authenticated piece. © Turquoise Skies Inc.
Navajo/Diné · documented in the T.Skies hallmark library
The mark
Schaaf (2003, p. 293) also records Roger Skeet, Jr., with a short biography.
Roger Skeet Jr. provided a key oral-history interview (reported by Bahti, 2007) clarifying that Ambrose Lincoln and Ambrose Roanhorse were two distinct contemporaries — both known to Roger Skeet Jr. and to Skeet's father (Roger Skeet Sr.). This interview is cited twice in Hougart (pp. 187, 268).
What is known
- Born: 1933
- Nation: Navajo
- Father: Roger Skeet Sr. (1900–1959)
- Brother: Anderson Skeets (1954–; also a documented silversmith — Mark: A stylized; ANDERSON SKEETS)
- Techniques: traditional styles; stamp work; chisel; repousse; set stones; concho belts, bracelets, necklaces
- Marks: Roger Skeet, Jr (mid-1950s, busted stamp); 42 R; RS
- Oral-history source: interview cited by Bahti, 2007
Know more about Roger? Let us know.
References
- Hougart, Bille. Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, 5th ed. (2022), pp. 187, 268, 291.
- Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. (1944), p. 240 — Roger Skeet (Sr.) index listing.
- Rosnek, Carl, and Joseph Stacey. Skystone and Silver. (1976) — bracelet by Roger Skeet referenced (probable Sr.).
- Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2007.
- 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: Bahti, Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers (2007)
2007 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2007, not today.
Recalling the round silver ingots his father and grandfather Chahi Begay still used into the 1950s, Roger Skeet Jr. told Bahti (2007):
“We would pound silver first and then roll it to make sheet.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 166 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 166), Roger Skeet Jr. was the oldest of Roger Skeet Sr.'s eight children and began his apprenticeship with his father at age eight, learning each technique of silverworking one step at a time. [1]
Speaking to Bahti (2007), Roger Skeet Jr. recalled the cast work he and his father once did:
“We used to occasionally do sand-cast work—for nazhas [also spelled najas], rings, buckles, and ketohs.”
— Bahti (2007), p. 167 [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 167), Roger Skeet Jr. began using the hallmark "R.S." about 1955, when the Navajo Guild in Window Rock started requiring it; a stamp reading "ROGER SKEET JR" proved brittle and soon broke, so he went back to "R.S." and "RS." [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 167), Roger Skeet Sr. and Jr. made silver bracelet frames for C. G. Wallace, whose Zuni artists inlaid them with turquoise; in a C. G. Wallace auction catalog Roger Jr. pointed out a belt made by his father in 1940 and inlaid by Zuni artist Lambert Homer that had been attributed to Roger Jr. and dated 1936, when he would have been three years old. [1]
According to Bahti (2007, p. 167), after his father died in 1959 Roger Skeet Jr. kept working with many of the tools he inherited from him, so their work is indistinguishable to everyone but Roger Jr., who can tell the tiny differences in their stampwork tools. [1]
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
“Roger Skeet, Jr. (stamps RS)”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 293 [2]
Schaaf (2003, p. 293) recorded Roger Skeet, Jr. as Navajo, born about the 1930s and active from before 1970 in traditional stampwork, repoussé and set stones, a son of Roger Skeet, Sr. and brother of Anderson and Tony Skeet. [2]
His father, Roger Skeet, Sr., was a Navajo smith active from about the 1920s to the 1960s who used no hallmark. Schaaf (2003, p. 292) gives his lifespan as ca. 1900 – 1969 or 1970; Hougart (2022, p. 291) gives 1900–1959. [2]
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.