Sonwai (Verma Nequatewa) Sterling Silver Fossilized Ivory Belt Buckle

$6,200.00

Sonwai (Verma Nequatewa) · Hopi

Sterling Silver Fossilized Ivory Belt Buckle

Medium — Hand-fabricated sterling silver set with fossilized ivory, turquoise, lapis, sugilite, coral, and fine-line gold accents

Design — A landscape at the Hopi Mesa, inlay set at varying heights

Dimensions — 3 1/4 in. L × 1 1/2 in. W

This sterling silver belt buckle by Sonwai (Verma Nequatewa) is set with fossilized ivory, turquoise, lapis, sugilite, coral, and fine-line gold accents, all within a hand-fabricated sterling silver frame. She set the inlay at varying heights, adding depth and texture to the buckle, which depicts a landscape at the Hopi Mesa.

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Artist:

Faust Gallery

Sonwai (Verma Nequatewa)

b. 1949, Hotevilla, Arizona  ·  Hopi

Hopi jewelers Charles Loloma and his niece Sonwai, Verma Nequatewa, together in the studio

Charles Loloma and Sonwai

Sonwai is the artistic name of Verma Nequatewa, one of the foremost Native American lapidary artists working today. The niece and longtime apprentice of the legendary Charles Loloma, she signs her work Sonwai, the feminine Hopi word for beauty, the counterpart to Loloma, the masculine word that was her uncle's name.

Working primarily in 18-karat gold set with the finest turquoise, coral, lapis, and sugilite, she hand-cuts each stone and fits the pieces together like a puzzle into the luminous stone-to-stone inlay that has become her signature. In 2018, the Heard Museum honored her with a retrospective, Sonwai: The Jewelry of Verma Nequatewa.

"Often, it is the stones that tell me what to do with the inlay. I work with them to help them become what they can be."

— Sonwai

Sonwai pendant in 18-karat gold with multi-stone inlay

Sonwai, 18k gold and inlay

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