The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 600
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
tions and farms were not available, but the author has done
all he could with extant sources, mostly secondary.
The typography is good, but three errors in the proof-reading
catch the eye: "Jopulation" for "Population" (p. 8, note 8),
"Huffin" for "Ruffin" (p. 35, note 34), and "Combpromise" for
"Compromise" (p. 87).
FRANK E. VANDIVER
San Antonio Army Service Forces Depot
The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. By John Adair (Univer-
sity of Oklahoma Press), 1944. The Civilization of the
American Indian Series. Pp. xvii+220; appendices, photo-
graphs, map, chart. $4.00.
This work capably records a highly specialized phase of
recent Southwestern history. Silversmithing was learned by
the Navajo from their Mexican neighbors of northern New
Mexico in the 1860's, after United States occupation had ended
the ancient Navajo-Mexican feud. It is interesting to note
this instance where the legendary steam roller of Anglo-
Saxon civilization was actually the catalyst for the spread of
elements of Spanish culture among the Indians. The Navajo
acquired from the Mexicans basic metallurgy plus ideas of
objects and designs to be adapted to Indian needs and tastes.
The Navajo continued to develop his art for his own benefit
until the end of the century. Then the white trading posts
began to urge production for the tourist trade of lighter,
cheaper jewelry, often with conventionalized North American
Indian designs. In the ensuing forty years baroque develop-
ments were caused by commercialization, improved technical
skill, and influences from Zufii pueblo, which had been turned
by admiration of turquoise from copied, simple Navajo styles
to intricate, studded work. Discrimination and knowledge of
art history are shown in the treatment of the development
from classic Navajo style to the rococo forms, and in the
author's support of school and craft guild efforts to reverse
the trend.
Careful consideration of the relation of silversmithing to
entire tribal culture patterns is the volume's outstanding con-
tribution to learning, for social factors have not been touched
by previous treatises. Silver and silverworking are not isolated600
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/668/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.