From card: "Circular ashtray with cigarette rest on one side; large disc of polished petrified wood set in center of bowl; intricate stamped design of geometric motif; cigarette rest has swastika & arrows motif; hallmark on bottom: "H" & a snake: Morris Robinson of Oraibi-Bakabi. See: Hopi Silver, Margaret White, Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1972, pg. 81 & index. Loaned to Hillwood 12-15-82."
Note: the swastika design is actually what is usually called the Navajo "whirling log" symbol. It is in no way related to the Nazi swastika. In 1940, in response to Hitler's regime, the Navajo, Papago, Apache and Hopi people signed a whirling log proclamation. It read, "Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika . . . on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sand paintings and clothing." Reference: The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles by Dennis J. Aigner. DAI Press, Laguna Beach, California, 2000. The swastika was also popular in the early 20th century in Europe and North America as a good luck symbol and was sometimes used decoratively in that sense on Hopi-made objects produced for the tourist market.
