6" Preston Monongye (Hopi) (1927-1987) Tufa Cast silver and multi-stone inlay b

6" Preston Monongye (Hopi) (1927-1987) Tufa Cast silver and multi-stone inlay bracelet 30mm wide in center, one row of thin inlay with loss next to the long row. Preston Monongye (1927-1987) was an influential proponent of what he called “the new Indian art.” He wrote, “We may use old techniques, along with old designs taken from potsherds or pictographs, but then we redesign them or add innovations of our own.” Preston had an unconventional and late blossoming path to jewelry making. He served in two wars, worked in law enforcement, and was an employee for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It was later in life that he decided to dedicate himself full time to jewelry making, which was received numerous awards. He had always experimented with jewelry and craftsmanship, but did not receive acclaim until fully committing to his art. Preston primarily did the metalwork and design for his pieces, letting his friend and acclaimed lapidary artist Lee Yazzie do the inlay, and later allowing his son Jesse Monongye to do his lapidary work. His pieces are exhibited nationwide. Born in East Los Angeles, California, to Mexican and Mission Indian parents, Monongye was adopted by a Hopi family at age seven. He was raised Hopi, speaking the Hopi language and participating in the Katsina Society. At age nine, Monongye began apprenticeship with his uncle, the master silversmith and painter Gene Pooyama. “He taught me how to live the ‘Hopi way,'” Monongye recalled. Throughout his car