Hopi-Tewa Five Color Pottery Tile of Water Maiden [SOLD]

The image on this tile was inspired by a tile in the collection of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University.  Mark Tahbo elaborated on the image by using five different colors—dark red from a stone, lighter red from a clay, black from a mineral, whitish-blue from kaolin, and mauve from a mixture of two sources. The artist shared with us that the light blue kaolin clay was also used periodically by Nampeyo of Hano. He stated that the source of the beautiful light blue is limited, so it has been used sparingly by Hopi-Tewa potters for a century.

The image is that of the Water Maiden, a Hopi Katsina that resembles the Palhikmana Katsina but she has a different function. The tablita of the maiden is beautifully rendered, with delicate multi-colored detail representing clouds and rain. She is identified as a woman by the marks on her cheeks and the breastplates.  Light feathery elements adorn the sides of the katsina. The artist rounded the top of the tile with dark red paint which he continued to use as a frame around the edges of all four sides.

The tile is signed on the back with the artist’s Pipe Hallmark Logo and the year ’17. The pipe hallmark signifies Mark's belonging to the Tabacco Clan of Hopi Pueblo.  It is new, having just been completed at the end of September 2017.

Condition: new

Provenance: this Hopi-Tewa Five Color Pottery Tile of Water Maiden is from the artist

Recommended Reading:  America's Great Lost Expedition, The Thomas Keam Collection of Hopi Pottery from the Second Hemenway Expedition, 1890-1894 by Edwin Wade and Lea McChesney