“Blessing Way Bolo”
by Julius Keyonnie, Navajo
Alternate View
Julius Keyonnie
Description: Bola tie with clasp in shape of a seed pot; sterling silver, 14k gold, and Bisbee turquoise.
About this Award: Any medium is eligible. This special acquisition award is open to all works on display at the Fair; they need not be entered in the Friday competition to win. Art works winning acquisition awards become part of the museum’s permanent collections. They are chosen for their technique and artistry as well as for the way in which they compare and contrast with other items in our collections.
Jurors’ Comments:
Diane Dittemore: The $3000 annual Hartman Lomawaima Memorial Purchase Award is funded by the Friends of the ASM Collections to enable the museum to enhance its ethnographic collections with especially fine examples of contemporary works by artists who attend SWIAF. A bola tie was selected in a nod to our state’s centennial; bolas are after all Arizona’s official neckware. This particular bola by award-winning Navajo artist Julius Keyonnie of Winslow has exquisite etched designs. A portion of the design references traditional Navajo wedding baskets, also fitting given the Museum’s new basketry preservation and access initiative.
Jean Nerenberg: I especially like that Julius’s bola is in the shape of a pot, something associated with the Southwest and with ASM.