- Jewelry
- Preston Monongye Cast Sterling Silver & Turquoise Pendant on Chain
Preston Monongye Cast Sterling Silver & Turquoise Pendant on Chain
Preston Monongye Cast Sterling Silver & Turquoise Pendant on Chain
Cast sterling silver pendant featuring human figure and set with turquoise, hanging on handmade sterling silver chain, by famed Hopi artist and innovator, Preston Monongye (1927-1987), mid 60s or later.
Approx: 27" chain length plus 5” x 1 3/4” pendant, 68.56 grams.
Cast sterling silver pendant featuring human figure and set with turquoise, hanging on handmade sterling silver chain, by famed Hopi artist and innovator, Preston Monongye (1927-1987), mid 60s or later.
Approx: 27" chain length plus 5” x 1 3/4” pendant, 68.56 grams.
Preston Monongye (1927-1987)
Preston Monongye was a leader in the contemporary Native American art movement of the 1960s and 1970s and was instrumental in developing what has been called the New Hopi style. In 1934, at the age of seven, moved from Los Angeles to Hopi Pueblo. His father was Hispanic. His mother was a California Mission Indian. When a Hopi family from Hotevilla, AZ, Nora and David Monongye, highly respected traditional elders, adopted him, he began attending reservation schools and became a full participant in Hopi religious and social life. In 1939, at age nine, Preston began apprenticeship with his uncle, the master silversmith and painter Gene Pooyama.
In the early 1960s, Monongye quickly became recognized as an innovative designer and technician. Monongye used traditional techniques and motifs to create a contemporary new look. He was best known for cast silver set with stones and work in gold. Monongye taught his art at various schools and workshops and lectured widely on contemporary Native design. He won many awards at shows and competitions and his jewelry appears in museum collections such as the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe.