Pottery

Marcy Burns American Indian Arts features Historic Pueblo and Hopi pottery. Historic pottery generally dates from 1870-1920s, although earlier pots occasionally surface. The railroads were completed in the West in the 1880s; thus, most pots were collected and sent home during that period or later.

Pots were rarely signed by artists until contemporary times, although there are exceptions that were the result of pressure from the marketplace (an example of this is the work of Maria Martinez, which she began signing in the 1920s).

The Hopi and Pueblo continued the Anasazi tradition of pottery-making, using local clays and minerals, polishing the pot with a smooth stone or piece of gourd, painting the design with a yucca brush, and firing the pot outdoors over an open fire made of dried dung and straw cakes.

Each Historic pot can usually be identified as to pueblo, age, etc. by the materials used, the techniques used in polishing and the details of the design. Occasionally a maker can be attributed, based on study of documented jars.

We carry a large inventory of pottery. Feel free to contact us if you would like to know the availability of specific types of pots.

Featured

Navajo jar by Alice Cling

6.25” diameter x 5.25” high

excellent condition

ex: Private Collection

$525.

(mc2349)

Santa Clara lidded jar by Tammy Garcia

5 1/2" diameter x 4" high without the lid and 5" high with the lid

natural clay, reduction fired

signed Tammy Garcia, Santa Clara Pueblo

March 1994

excellent condition

ex: Private Collection

$7200.

Zia jar with roadrunner designs by Sophie Medina

10 3/4” diameter x 10” high

made out of natural clay and slip

excellent condition with one very small chip on the rim and one very small chip on the wing of one bird

ex: Marcy Burns American Indian Arts, 1983; Private Collection

$1200.

(mc2389)

Hopi jar by Rondina Huma

6 1/2” diameter x 3 1/4” high

polychrome with intricate designs

excellent condition

ex: Private Collection

$2950.

(mc2390)

Zuni polychrome jar with geometric design

13 3/4" diameter x 10 1/4" high

natural clay and slip

excellent condition

circa 1880-1890s

ex: Private Colllection

$9500.

(mc2385)

We are very excited to offer this early and great Zuni polychrome jar. It is fresh to the market and it has wonderful size, shape and condition. It is coming out of a private collection.

Santa Clara seed jar

4 3/4" diameter x 3 3/4" high

natural clay and slip, reduction fired

signed Grace Medicine Flower and Camilio Tafoya

very good condition with hairline cracks emanating up from the bottom of the jar

circa 1970s-1990s

$495.

(mc2386)

Hopi polychrome canteen attributed to Nampeyo

circa 6” high x 6” diameter at widest location

excellent condition

circa 1900-1910

ex: Private Collection by descent

This is a wonderful Hopi canteen. The quality and form of the pot as well as of that of the painted design clearly indicates that the canteen was likely made by Nampeyo, who is considered the Matriarch of contemporary Hopi pottery. The design is known as “Sikyaki Revival” and is known to have been used by Nampeyo.

This Nampeyo canteen is very fresh to the market. It came out of a private collection that we recently purchased.

[The rawhide strap(s) were removed and are not on the canteen anymore. They were likely not original to the canteen].

$3200.

Historic Hopi jar attributed to Nampeyo

circa 8” diameter

ex: collection of T. B. Walker Foundation; Sotheby’s, 11/29/1988; Private Collection

circa 1910-1915

excellent condition

$3500.

(mc2296)

Santa Clara incised jar by Mida Tafoya

avanyu incised design

excellent condition

ex: Skip Maisel, Albuquerque; Private Collection

circa mid-20th century

$1275.

(mc2298)

Santa Clara incised jar by Grace Medicine Flower

8” diameter x 5” high

ex: Gallery 10, 1995; Private Collection

excellent condition

(mc2193b)

Grace Medicine Flower is the daughter of renowned potters Camilio Tafoya and his wife Agapita Tafoya. She is also the niece of Margaret Tafoya, the “grande dame” of pottery from Santa Clara in the 20th century. Grace’s pottery is in the White House Collection as well as in numerous major museums throughout the United States.

In her early career, Grace became known for her miniature pots, in which she usuallly used the sgraffito technique. She went on to develop and refine traditional Santa Clara incised designs, such as in this pot. Notice the avanyu (water serpent) design, developed and enlarged in the canvas of the bowl. The incising of the design is impeccable.

(mc2193)

Acoma pendant by Emma Lewis (1931-2013)

2 1/4” diameter x 2 5/8” long

coiled out of natural clay, slipped with Acoma white slip and painted with black beeswax and natural red loose clay. Fired over an open pit traditional fire.

Emma was a self-taught potter, having learned how to make pottery by watching her mother, Lucy Lewis. She and her family want to keep the traditions and designs of the ancient Mimbres alive and therefore often use those designs in their pottery. This particular pendant has a heart-line deer design as its main motif, a design perhaps influenced by Zuni use of the design.

$195.00

(mc2266)

Acoma bowl by Lucy Lewis

Black on white bowl with geometric design, 7 1/8” diameter x 4 1/2” high. Three-rod coiled out of natural clay, slipped with natural Acoma slip and painted with natural beeswax paint using a hand-made yucca brush. 1960-1970. Excellent condition. ex: Chimayo Trading and Mercantile, Chimayo, NM; Private Collection

SOLD

(mc2265)