Wilmer Saufkie — Hopi Silversmith
Wilmer Saufkie marked his silver with a frog. Margaret Nickelson Wright's Hopi Silver, a register of Hopi smiths and their hallmarks, lists him as Wilmer Saufkie Lomayouma, records that he "Learned from father and mother, Lawrence and Gracilda Saufkie," and dates his start at Shungopavi to 1990, with "Little work until 1993" (Wright 2003, p. 103).
A pin or pendant of his with a flower design appears in Theda Bassman's The Beauty of Hopi Jewelry (Bassman 1993, p. 35). Bille Hougart's Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks, under the name Wilmer Saufkie Lomayaoma, Sr., lists him as Hopi, working in overlay and active from the 1990s, and gives 2011 as the year of his death (Hougart 2022, p. 193).
His hallmark
Wright labels his mark "Frog" (Wright 2003, p. 103). Writing about Farron Naka'waywisa, whose mark is also a frog, Mark Bahti describes Wilmer Saufkie's as "a similar frog hallmark, but with a rain cloud in the belly" (Bahti 2007, p. 121).
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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.
- Bahti, Mark. Silver + Stone: Profiles of American Indian Jewelers. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2007.
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.