Hopi-Tewa Plainware Seed Jar [SOLD]

In August 2017, Mark Tahbo experimented with plainware pottery, traditional Hopi-Tewa pottery devoid of painted designs.  The reactions to this new plainware was very favorable so Mark has decided to continue making a few pieces from time to time.

This jar was made of clay from the Jeddito area of the Hopi Mesas.  There is no design and no slip, only the stone-polished natural clay.  The concept is to highlight the vessel shape and let it stand alone without distraction from design.

Prehistoric Jeddito Yellow Ware is a type of pottery that was made exclusively at the Hopi Mesas in northern Arizona, circa 1300, and widely traded throughout the Southwest. Probably no ware of Pueblo pottery is admired as much as Jeddito Yellow Ware. Not only are vessels of this ware conspicuous for beauty of form and for elaborate designs, but probably are admired as much for the clear, bright yellow tones of the vessel surface.  The result is this beautiful yellow jar.

To provide a facet to the surface, Mark polished the jar in a vertical stroke rather than the normal horizontal stroke.  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. The tobacco pipe logo of the artist is painted on the interior of the bowl.

Condition: this Hopi-Tewa Plainware Seed Jar is in new condition

Provenance: from the artist

Recommended Reading:  Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf