Hopi Polacca Black-on-white Round Pottery Tile [SOLD]

Polacca pottery style began around 1740, but did not fully become the predominant type at Hopi until about 1800, and it continued until about 1890. Polacca wares were the predominant utilitarian wares of this period.  Later, Polacca clay was used for making tourist items such as this tile, which likely dates to 1900, a time when trader Thomas Keam encouraged potters to make items suitable for sale to tourists, particularly pottery tiles.  Most tiles appear to have been rectangular, with fewer round ones.  This tile features a sun face as the primary design.

Condition: a crack in the tile was professionally repaired and overpainted

Provenance: this Hopi Polacca Black-on-white Round Pottery Tile is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History by Kim and Pat Messier