Harlan R. Coonsis, Zuni Pueblo Artisan

Award winning Zuni Pueblo lapidary artisan Harlan Coonsis has been featured in multiple publications. He is Sun Clan, and he has been an active jeweler and lapidary artisan since 1975, making works in mosaic, carved solid inlay, engraved, cabs in bezels, and stampwork.  He has won awards at Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, New Mexico.

Zuni artisan Harlan R. Coonsis (1958-) signs with the initials RHC.

Making jewelry is one of the primary economic activities at Zuni. Every family has someone involved in some aspect of the creation and sale of jewelry. Zuni lapidary artists have been cutting, shaping, and polishing small pieces of stone and shell since prehistoric times. When the Spanish arrived in the area, they added silver and other metals to their repertoire. Zuni lapidary artists became adept at using silver as a frame for their stone and shell works of art.

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Jewelry, Zuni Pueblo