Diné (Navajo) Piñon Pitch Clay Pitcher [SOLD]

The Navajo have traditionally made pottery for their own use. Pottery drums and pipes were made for ceremonial use and coffee pots and cups made for daily use. It was not until after World War II, when traveling resumed and highway construction commenced on the Navajo Reservation, that pottery production increased. Prior to that, only three paved roads bordered the reservation and none crossed into it, therefore there were no incentives to produce something for sale when there were no buyers.

As tourists began visiting the reservation, there became a need for inexpensive items for them to purchase as souvenirs: items less expensive than jewelry or rugs. The traders encouraged the women to make pottery to fill this need. Thus, we have the creation of a new marketable item.

This pottery pitcher is probably an item that was made for use by the Navajo as well as made for sale to tourists.  It is not signed with a potter's name.

Condition: original condition with a small chip on the side wall at the base almost directly in line with the handle.

Provenance: from the collection of Katherine H. Rust

Recommended Reading: Collections of Southwestern Pottery: Candlesticks to Canteens, Frogs to Figurines by Allan Hayes