Inlay: Stone Set Into Silver

Inlay: Stone Set Into Silver

Where stampwork decorates the metal and cluster work crowns it with stones, inlay makes the stone part of the surface itself — cut, fitted, and set flush into channels and cells of silver. It is the Southwest's most painterly technique, and the books place its greatest flowering at Zuni.

Radiante: Turquoise Chip Inlay Stud Earrings — turquoise chip inlay technique example
Chip inlay: crushed stone set in resin within stamped or cast cells — Radiante: Turquoise Chip Inlay Stud Earrings. From the T.Skies gallery.
Turquoise & Green Opal Inlay Pendant — flush stone inlay technique example
Flush inlay: shaped stones fitted edge-to-edge into the silver — Turquoise & Green Opal Inlay Pendant. From the T.Skies gallery.

The Zuni Center

The books consistently identify Zuni as the inlay capital of the Southwest[1] — lapidary skill running deeper than metalwork in the pueblo's tradition, with Navajo smiths documented working inlay as well[2].

The Styles

Channel inlay — stones set into soldered silver channels — carries the longest documented practitioner roster in our library, including Charles Supplee[3], William and Joe Zunie[4], Lee Weebothee[5], and Benny Touchine[6]. Figural inlay — pictures in stone — is documented for Linda and Henry Barber[7], and stone-and-shell inlay for Alvin Beeshligaii[8]. Many of these makers have pages in our directory.

Zuni Sunface Kachina Inlay Ring — inlay style example
Style in practice: Zuni Sunface Kachina Inlay Ring. From the T.Skies gallery.

A note on accuracy. We strive for accuracy, and this page is continuously updated with new information from the artists, their families, and the community. Corrections welcome.

Sources

  1. Arizona Highways (1954), p. 34; Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry, p. 54; Lund, Indian Jewelry: Fact and Fantasy, pp. 75, 92
  2. Encyclopedia, p. 54; Tanner & Koonce, Ray Manley's Portraits and Turquoise, p. 62
  3. Hougart, Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks (5th ed.), p. 362
  4. Bahti, Silver and Stone, p. 115
  5. Bahti, p. 109
  6. Hougart 5e, p. 373
  7. Hougart 5e, pp. 47, 100
  8. Hougart 5e, pp. 49, 102

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Inlay in the Gallery Now

Currently available inlay pieces — chip, flush and channel styles, each attributed on its product page.

Radiante: Turquoise Chip Inlay Stud Earrings — hand-stamped sterling silver Radiante: Turquoise Chip Inlay Stud Earrings
Gold Drop Earrings with Opal Inlay — hand-stamped sterling silver Gold Drop Earrings with Opal Inlay
Blue Opal & Mother of Pearl Channel Inlay Pendant — hand-stamped sterling silver Blue Opal & Mother of Pearl Channel Inlay Pendant
Turquoise and Coral Thunderbird Chip Inlay Ring — hand-stamped sterling silver Turquoise and Coral Thunderbird Chip Inlay Ring
Onyx and Opal Channel Inlay Signet Ring — hand-stamped sterling silver Onyx and Opal Channel Inlay Signet Ring
3-Pendant Opal Inlay Necklace — hand-stamped sterling silver 3-Pendant Opal Inlay Necklace
Zuni Sunface Kachina Inlay Ring — hand-stamped sterling silver Zuni Sunface Kachina Inlay Ring
Turquoise & Coral Inlay Earrings — hand-stamped sterling silver Turquoise & Coral Inlay Earrings

See the full Guide: Inlay collection →