Wallie Sekayumptewa — Hopi Silversmith Hallmark
Wallie Sekayumptewa began silverwork in 1948 under the G.I. Bill. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, records Wallie Sekayumptewa as a member of the Reed clan, with Hotevilla, Oraibi and Shungopavi as home villages, who stopped silverwork in 1967 and was working a little again in 1996 (Wright 2003, p. 79).
Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks lists him as "Wallie Sekayumptewa (1917-2003; Hopi)," calls him "An early innovator in overlay technology at the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild in the late 1940s," and places him in the Hopi GI Bill class of 1949-1951 (Hougart 2022, p. 282).
The hallmark
Wright labels the mark "Crossed Arrows." The printed drawing shows two arrows crossed in an X, their fletched ends at the top (Wright 2003, p. 79).
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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.
- 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, p. 199) listed Wallie Sekayumptewa among the students of Fred Kabotie, and (p. 200) wrote that he helped Fred's son Michael Kabotie get started in silver. [3]
Schaaf (2003) entered him as
“Wallie Sekayumptewa (Wally), (hallmark - crossed arrows)”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 284 [3]
Schaaf (2003, p. 284) recorded Wallie Sekayumptewa as Hopi, born about the 1920s and active from about 1948 in copper and silver overlay, cutout and appliqué jewelry, taught by Paul Saufkie, Sr., Fred Kabotie and the Hopi Silvercraft Cooperative Guild, and the teacher of Michael Kabotie. [3]
Schaaf (2003) wrote:
“His necklaces of Rainbird pendants are especially elegant.”
— Schaaf (2003), p. 285 [3]
Field Notes by Mateo James
I notice the books place his birth differently. Hougart gives 1917, while Schaaf's 2003 register says about the 1920s. I show both as printed.
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.