Description
All Cuff bracelets on the Estate Fresh Austin website will have the size wrist they fit (in inches) including the gap at the beginning of the title, there are also many photos in this listing which will show a tape measure inside the bracelet, gap size, width, etc. The item should also be shown on a scale in the photos. Hallmarks will be shown, if no attribution is made then please assume it was unresearched due to time limitations. All items that are over 40+ years old should have age appropriate wear, more recent items will be extremely clean with no hidden flaws or repairs. The majority of our business on the (Estate Fresh Austin website) is to high end galleries all over the world, so the items we sell are in gallery condition. It is extremely common for 1970's and older Native American jewelry to have no markings whatsoever.
6" Jesse Monongya Hopi/Navajo sterling silver inlaid cuff bracelet c1980's. Tested and guaranteed solid sterling silver with weight and measurements in photos. Circa last quarter of the 20th century.
Jesse Monongya
Navajo & Hopi Master Jeweler
1952–2024 · Lived and worked in Scottsdale, Arizona
Jesse Monongya was a celebrated Native American jeweler of Navajo and Hopi descent, widely known for his extraordinary inlay work and symbolic, sculptural designs. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1952, he was raised by Navajo relatives in the Chuska Mountains near Two Grey Hills, New Mexico, after being separated from his birth family as a young child. His early life was shaped by deep cultural traditions and spiritual teachings that would later inform his artistry.
A turning point came in 1975, when Monongya reunited with his biological father, the renowned Hopi jeweler Preston Monongye. Under his father’s mentorship, Jesse refined his craft, blending Hopi-inspired design sensibilities with Navajo symbolism and a singular vision entirely his own.
Monongya’s work is best known for its cosmic themes and masterful stone-to-stone inlay. Working in lapis lazuli, turquoise, coral, opal, and fossilized ivory, he created wearable landscapes, spiritual motifs, and celestial symbols. His signature bear pendants — emblems of strength and protection — became among his most iconic creations, their intricately inlaid forms often set with stars and planetary elements against jet or darkened grounds, evoking the night sky.
“I would dream the colors, and I would wake up in the middle of the night and draw it out.”
Jesse Monongya
Over a career spanning decades, Monongya earned the field’s highest honors and saw his work collected and exhibited by leading institutions, from the Heard Museum to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Museum of Modern Art.
Selected Honors & Awards
Museum Collections
Jesse Monongya passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona, on August 6, 2024, at the age of 71. He is remembered not only for his artistic mastery but for the spiritual depth and cultural richness embedded in each of his creations — a legacy that lives on through the younger generations of Native American jewelers he influenced, including his own children and apprentices.
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