Loloma
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Collector 1
Jewelry by Charles Loloma, a Hopi artist who was one of the great jewelry artists of the
2nd half of the 20th century. My father first met Charles and his wife Otellie about 1954. They
were both working in clay at the time (Charles had earned a MA in ceramics from Bruce University). They
soon set up a small shop in Scottsdale at Craftsman Court, run by Lloyd Kiva. All three would later
be involved with the founding and initial years of the Institute of American Indian Arts in
Santa Fe. My father started representing Charles' jewelry around 1959. I spent the summer of 1966
living at Hopi, staying with Charles at his then-tiny studio outside his home village of Hotvela. I
learned the rudiments of silver-working from him, including sandcasting and a very primitive form
of lost-wax casting. His unfortunate and premature death in 1991 was a keen loss for many of us, but
he left an unmatched artistic legacy.
There are counterfeit Loloma jewelry pieces in the market. For my part I will provide documentation
for each of these pieces, signed by the original purchaser/owner, with information on when and were
they were originally purchased.
Three Loloma rings from a private collection in Tucson: the lostwax cast ring is set with
two small turquoise beads. It measures about a 6 1/4. $4800. (SOLD)
The ladies ring (also a 6 1/4) with the interior inlay is $5200. (we have a matching
men's ring, but the interior inlay is completely gone. We will be having Loloma's niece,
Verma Nequatewa, replace the inlay. If you would like to know when it is complete, please
send us an e-mail).
The larger man's ring is a size 10 and is priced at $8800. (SOLD) It is inlaid with fossilized
ivory, turquoise, coral and ironwood.
