Southwest Indian Pottery Hopi Pueblo, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu Modern

Hopi-Tewa Plainware Jar by Mark Tahbo [SOLD]

Category: Modern
Origin: Hopi Pueblo, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu
Medium: clay
Size: 7-1/8” height x 7-1/2” diameter
Item # C4060A

SOLD

Close up view of the exquisite burnishing.

If Mark Tahbo were here, he would go into an hour-long explanation about this jar—where he got the clay, why he chose that clay source, whether he polished in a vertical or horizontal manner, and why he chose to leave it without decoration. Unfortunately, we do not have the pleasure of his presence for those explanations, and I will not attempt to stand in for him.

This is one of the earlier plainware jars by Mark Tahbo (1958 - 2017). It is dated 1998, much earlier than we were aware that Mark was working with plainware. The jar was beautifully formed and burnished to perfection. The stone polishing, executed in a vertical position, provides a slight reflective quality. The jar was fired in a traditional outdoor firing manner, using native coal and the bones of sheep. The bones burn well and add to the heat of the coal.

Mark Tahbo was a Hopi-Tewa and a member of the Tobacco Clan. He had been an active potter since 1978. He came from a long line of outstanding potters, the most famous of whom was his great-grandmother Grace Chapella. He was also the grandson of her daughter Alma Tahbo. His siblings were potters too. Grace Chapella, of course, is famous for living to 106 years and continuing to make pottery past her 100th birthday.

Mark Tahbo made extremely thin-walled vessels and polished them to perfection. His designs were executed with precision. Because of his fine workmanship, he received numerous awards at the Heard Museum Annual Indian Fair. He also had been a consistent award winner at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1991, he won Overall Prize at Santa Fe's Indian Market. In 1992 he was awarded Best of Division at the Heard Museum Indian Fair. Awards continued to be presented to him in 1993 and 1994 and later.