Kenneth Begay and Charles Loloma--the wooden connection

In 1956, an innovative young Hopi potter and occasional jeweler named Charles Loloma moved to Scottsdale, Arizona into a studio space on Craftsman Court. There, he met many of the local artists who helped him along with his work and career, including Lloyd Kiva New and Fred Skaggs. His work progressed from purely silverwork to the creative use of stones and inlays for which he would become famous. By 1962, according to Martha Struever's LOLOMA, he was setting turquoise and coral like other Indian artists, but he had also started using the rather nontraditional material ironwood as well. It might seem an odd combination of the old and the new, but considering where Loloma lived and who some of his friends were, it was perfectly natural that ironwood would become one of his favorite and most commonly used inlay materials.

Just down the street in Scottsdale was the White Hogan, a shop which employed some of the best and most creative Navajo silversmiths of the day, including the Kee brothers and their cousin, Kenneth Begay. Loloma's admiration for Begay was no secret--he even made some pieces in Begay's signature "bar" pattern, as shown on page 62 of LOLOMA. One thing in which the White Hogan smiths were pioneers was the use of nontraditional patterns and materials, and one of their most commonly used inlay materials was ironwood. No other Indian artists of the day used ironwood in jewelry, and it makes perfect sense that the ever-open minded Loloma would learn about how to use this material from Begay and the others. By the mid-1960s, Loloma jewelry would often incorporate ironwood, as well as other unusual materials such as fossil ivory. Which brings us to...

This silver pendant by Loloma is in his "corn maiden" pattern, but unlike most other similar pendants, he used ironwood to simulate long, flowing brown hair. There is also turquoise and coral, but the colors that predominate are those of the ironwood and fossil ivory. It was likely made circa 1965-70, and is a fitting tribute to Begay and the other White Hogan smiths who introduced Loloma to ironwood.