Vintage Post WWII Era Native American Hopi Water Wave Design Turquiose Inlay Brooch, 1.5”, 11.3g Tested

Also in the 1950s Woodard’s of Gallup adapted overlay designs used at the Hopi Guild and had them made into pins and earrings by Navajo silversmiths. One of their templates featured a Hopi water wave design and an area where one triangular turquoise stone would be set flush into one quadrant. Overlay as a technique for conveying traditional Hopi designs in silver originated in 1938 from drawings produced at the Museum of Northern Arizona and continued in Fred Kabotie’s silver designs for the World War II veterans classes held from 1947-1951; though overlay was only one of many techniques taught in the classes by instructor Paul Saufkie. In 1949 the Hopi Silvercraft Guild was formed and by the mid-1950s overlay was the only technique used by Guild silversmiths as the use of sheet silver became commonplace.

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• Listed Oct 12, 2025