Silver Hallmarks and Pottery Signatures Recorded as Navajo (Diné)

This reference records 797 entries (774 silversmith hallmarks and 23 pottery signatures) whose recorded nation includes Navajo (Diné). Of these, 357 include a photograph of the mark, 645 have a transcribed mark text, and 191 are possible attributions rather than a documented one.

Not every stamp on Navajo silver is a maker's mark. The Heard Museum notes that Navajo smiths made their stamps from iron tools such as nails and files, and that over time stamping “became the primary method of decorating silver.” (Source: Heard Museum, Southwest Silverwork, 1850–1940)

A hallmark records who is believed to have used a stamp; on its own it does not establish who made a particular piece. Our guide explains how to read a silversmith hallmark, and the full hallmark index can be searched by name or mark text. Potters from every nation recorded are listed together in the pottery signatures section.