Description
sz4 Bernard Dawahoya (1936-2010) Hopi Overlay silver ring 6.8 grams, clean on<br>all sides with no issues.<br><br>Bernard Dawahoya<br>(1936-2010)<br><br>Master silversmith Bernard Dawahoya was born in 1936 in the Second Mesa village<br>of Shungopavi. A member of the Snow Clan, his Hopi name is Masaqueva, which<br>means “Wings of the Sun” or “Little Sun”.<br><br>Bernard Dawahoya, was a master of many traditional Hopi arts, but focused on<br>silversmithing since his teens and making jewelry since the 1950’s. He learned<br>from his uncles, Washington Talayumptewa and Sidney Sekakuku, and also took<br>classes at the Hopi Silver Craft Cooperative Guild.<br><br>Eventually, Bernard Dawahoya returned to Shungopavi and opened his own shop, and<br>continued to exhibit at arts and craft shows. His masterful works are known for<br>their precise matting (texturing) in negative spaces, heavyweight silver, crisp<br>designs, and bold traditional symbols, such as Mudheads, Hopi Snake Dancer, Crow<br>Mother, eagles, roadrunners and more; all reflect Hopi history, culture, and<br>beliefs. Beyond his skills with silver overlay, jewelry boxes and bowls, he<br>created textiles, paintings, Katsina dolls, and leatherwork. He also recorded<br>traditional Hopi dance songs in 2004, and was known as a prolific storyteller,<br>regaling admirers with the stories behind his designs.<br><br>His works are included in the collection at Harvard University’s Peabody Museum<br>of Archaeology and Ethnology as well as at other museums from California to New<br>York and many private collections. In 1998 he was designated an Arizona Living<br>Treasure and enjoyed that distinction until his passing in 2010.
