Polychrome Jar with Butterfly Designs [R]

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Alma Tahbo (1915-1993)

The Chapella/Tahbo family is very famous as potters from First Mesa. They lived down below in the village of Polacca. The matriarch of the family was Grace Chapella (1874-1980) and her favorite designs were butterflies and moths. Her daughter was Alma Tahbo who assisted her mother in her advanced age by helping paint her pottery. As a result, Alma was quite proficient with the Chapella designs when her mother passed away.

Alma passed on the Chapella designs to her daughter Deanna Tahbo and to her grandson Mark Tahbo. As a result, the Grace Chapella moth/butterfly designs live on today.

This large seed jar by Alma is a perfect example of her continuation of the Chapella pottery designs. The upper shoulder of the jar is beautifully executed with four butterflies. There has been some abrasion to the painted area but it is not seriously detracting from the beauty of the jar.

There is a lateral slip crack running across the tail feathers of one of the butterflies but it does not penetrate to the inside of the vessel. See the second image to see the extent of the slip crack.

Alma Tahbo (1915-1993)
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