Hopi Polychrome Candle Holder with Handle [SOLD]

Candlestick production probably originated when the Franciscans requested them for use in the churches. They could have started as early as the late 1500s, but probably originated much later. At first, candlesticks brought from Spain or Mexico were used, but eventually were replaced by pottery ones created by pueblo potters.

Hopi candlesticks such as this one probably originated with suggestions from Thomas Keam or the Fred Harvey Company as tourist items.  Keam had a thriving business at his trading post at Keam's Canyon on the Hopi Reservation and the Fred Harvey Company had a monopoly at its gift shop at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. 

I would estimate that this candlestick dates to the mid-1900s.  It is not signed with an artist's name.  The dish portion is decorated with a pair of stylized bird elements.  Note the beak is painted in dark brown and the tail feathers are in the design of a fret.  The handle was slipped in red clay.

Condition:  very good condition with evidence of use.

Provenance: from the collection of a family from New Mexico

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