Juana Leno was one of the most accomplished potters at Acoma Pueblo in the 20th century.  For the most part, she was unequalled.  Her work was flawless.  Of all the potters from Acoma whom I personally knew, she was my favorite.  She quietly worked every day producing extraordinary pottery without seeking acclaim. She was a wonderful woman and very modest about her talent to produce such fine pieces. She may not have achieved the fame she was due, but it was not because of the lack of quality in her work, but because she chose to remain quietly at home and not seek fame. 

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A number of years ago, it was noticed that a quantity of wood carvings began to appear that looked like authentic Hopi Katsina dolls, but they were not true to scale or style.  It was determined that someone in Arizona, not a Hopi, was making these and distressing them to look like old katsina dolls.

I am convinced that this Squash carving is one of those.  It is too long and skinny and has been distressed to appear old. 

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Watson Namoki has created a kiva scene with a ladder inserted from the roof top into the inside.  On the roof, he placed Hahai-i Wuhti Katsina carrying a bowl of blue cornmeal and Tuma-uyi (White Chin) Katsina in a panorama of a Katsina Night Dance. 

Hahai-i Wuhti is considered to be a sprightly Hopi grandmother.  Whenever she appears she is usually very vocal, an attribute not common among the other katsinas.  She is considered the mother of the Ogre Katsinas as well as the mother of all katsinas.  Tuma-uyi Katsina is one of the very old katsinas.  When he appears, he comes in a group, but can be impersonated at any time.  His name means "white chin" and seems to derive from the white clay (kaolin) that is used to coat katsina dolls before they are painted.

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The arrival of the Spaniards in the late 1500s had very little effect on pottery production at the pueblos in either shape or design, but by the 1700s, there were noticeable changes.  Still later, with the opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821 and the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in 1880, change became inevitable at pueblos located close to the non-Indian populations.

San Juan Pueblo is located only 6 miles from Espanola, New Mexico, and was the area chosen by the Spaniards as the first capitol of their northern territory.  They eventually relocated their headquarters to Santa Fe.  Even though San Juan was near a population center, there was very little, if any, effect on its pottery styles.  The only effect was its almost complete cessation in the late 1800s, however, what little was produced stayed the same until the 1930s when change eventually appeared for commercial purposes.

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It can be said that Tomás Vigil (Pan-Yo-Pin - Summer Mountain) was of the style of most early 20th century pueblo paintings-that is it was simple, two-dimensional painting. He outlined his intention in pencil before beginning to paint. His colors are strong and show much contrast. His figures generally show considerable action.

He signed his paintings with this name Pan-yo-Pin (1889-1960).  He was from Tesuque Pueblo and passed away before the resurgence in Native art occurred in the 1960s, with strong interest witnessed in the 1980s and again in 2005.  This interest continues today but works of many artists who passed away around the mid-20th century are not often seen because many of those purchases were not considered important and were not sufficiently protected.  Fortunately, this one by Pan-yo-Pin survived.

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Although the location chosen by the artist for this painting is not noted, nor is the date she painted it noted, it appears to have been painted in a Northern New Mexico mountain area in the beginning of wintertime.  Sabo loved painting mountain scenes, aspen trees, snow, and creeks or rivers.  It is quite possible that this was painted in an area of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range at Santa Fe. Her best paintings incorporate snow, a very difficult subject to paint.  Achieving various colors of snow in shadows is extremely hard to achieve but Sabo was a master at doing so.

Betty Jean Sabo, who passed away only a couple months ago, was one of Albuquerque's most famous contemporary artists. She was a student at some point of Carl Von Hassler, probably in the early years of her career. She was best known as a painter until later in her career at which time she switched to sculpture.  Her paintings were so popular they were snatched up before the paint dried.

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Betty Jean Beals, became Betty Jean Angelos when she first married, then Betty Jean Sabo when she married Dan Sabo who became her life partner.  Her earlier paintings were signed simply Angelos.  Later ones were signed Sabo.  This is one of her earlier paintings.  It is not dated but most likely dates to the mid-1950s.  Following graduation from the University of New Mexico, she became a painter and continued painting until she reached age 60, at which time she switched to sculpture. Paint fumes were causing her to be sick. 

Because of her extraordinary talent as a painter of oil paintings of New Mexico scenery and then her switch to sculpting bronze figures, most collectors have tended to retain those paintings in their collections as there are none after the 1970s when Sabo switched to bronze casting.

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The Indian Head cent, also known as an Indian Head penny, was a one-cent coin ($0.01) produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1859 to 1909. It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint.

From 1793 to 1857, the cent was a copper coin about the size of a half dollar. As rising copper prices made it impractical to keep striking them, in 1857 the Mint reduced the size of the cent, issuing a new design, the Flying Eagle cent. The new pieces were identical in diameter to modern cents, though somewhat thicker and made of copper-nickel. The design caused production difficulties, and the Mint soon looked to replace the coin. Mint Director James Ross Snowden selected the Indian Head design, and chose a laurel wreath for the reverse that was replaced in 1860 by an oak wreath with a shield. Cents were hoarded during the economic chaos of the American Civil War, when the metal nickel was in short supply. As Mint officials saw that privately issued bronze tokens were circulating, they induced Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing a slimmer cent of bronze alloy.

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Candelaria Medina Gachupin (1908-1997), Zia Pueblo, was a mid- to late-20th century potter and was the mother of Dora Tse·Pe of San Ildefonso Pueblo. There is not a single example of Gachupin's pottery in the School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe and but only one in the Museum of Indian Art and Culture (MIAC).  (Harlow & Lanmon) This may not seem significant at this time, but a hundred years from now, it would be a shame that there were not more potters of the 20th century represented in these fine museums.

In checking over our records, we find that we have had only two pots by Gachupin in the last 15 years. Perhaps they are relatively rare. I understand that Dora does have several examples of her mom's work in her personal collection.

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We have had a wonderful time trying to track down information on this bronze of a young girl that was made by Glenna Goodacre early in her career.  The current owners purchased it from Forrest Fenn at Fenn Galleries in Santa Fe in 1978, so we consulted Nedra Matteucci Galleries because Matteucci purchased Fenn Galleries and its records.  When we told the gallery who the purchaser had been, they verified from Fenn records that the bronze was sold to that couple in 1978. 

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Emma Lewis Mitchell of Acoma Pueblo told Rick Dillingham that individual signatures on Acoma pottery began to appear around 1950.  Other potters have stated slightly earlier dates.  It has generally been accepted that signatures began appearing with the influx of tourists following the end of World War II.  So, mid-1940s to late 1940s seems to be an acceptable date for the appearance of signed pottery.

This jar is not signed, even with the pueblo name.  We feel it dates to the 1950s and is just probably one that never got signed.  Every pottery did not begin to sign pottery at the same time.  Surely it took years, maybe even a decade, before it became a general practice.

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The names J. B. Moore and Crystal Trading Post go together like peanut butter and jelly.  One rarely says one name without saying the other.  Moore had a short tenure at Crystal Trading Post but his legacy lived on for many years.  He had arrived there in 1897 and departed in 1911. 

Moore determined to improve the quality of wool used in rugs by having it cleaned and dyed under his wife's supervision.  For even better quality, he sent wool to a commercial scouring plant for preparation.  Additionally, he strived to have the weavers make rugs that were marketable, rugs based on patterns that potential buyers would associate with their thoughts of how a rug should look.

Navajo weavers were making traditional blankets at that time which were devoid of borders. Moore wanted borders on the weavings so they would look more like rugs rather than blankets.  The weavers found it difficult to add a border around all four sides of a weaving.  The superstitious women were not comfortable enclosing their designs within a border from which their talent could not escape allowing for another rug to be made later.  Whether Moore suggested it or whether the women implemented it by themselves, the weaver's pathway-a single strand of yarn from the inner part of the rug through the border-was developed.  There was precedent for such as all Navajo ceremonial baskets had a break in the bands of design to allow for talent of the weaver to be freed.

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Ramon Kelley began his art career at an early age by drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks. He earned early recognition as a young artist and has continued to grow professionally. Kelley credits Russian artist Nicolai Fechin as a major influence on his strong figural paintings. Subject matter of primary interest to Kelley is Mexican and Southwestern scenes.

Although living in Denver, Colorado, Kelley goes on sketching trips around Taos, New Mexico. It is there that he paints some of his finest Southwestern landscapes and Indian subjects. He is regarded as especially successful with portraits of young people and older people.

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Occasionally one sees a piece of pueblo pottery which is above and beyond what one expects. That is the case with this bowl. Constructed of native clay mixed with native temper, coil formed in the traditional pueblo technique, and fired in an outdoor firing are all traditional traits one would expect. That is where the ordinary ends, and the unusual begins.

This is probably the rarest Tesuque bowl one could expect to see. It is profusely decorated on its interior and exterior to the point where one must study it seriously to absorb all the designs. There are cloud and lightning elements that are rarely used on secular vessels but mostly reserved for ceremonial ones. There are cornstalk motifs, parallel framing lines with diagonal hatching lines (only used by Tesuque).

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Every handmade pottery jar has its own charm and idiosyncrasies.  Some teach us a lesson.  The lesson learned from this jar is that a potter cannot erase a painted line once applied.  This potter first drew a pair of lines and then realized that they needed to be about an inch from where she drew them, so she attempted to erase them but the telltale signs remain.  Such a change of plans by a potter does not ruin a finished jar but reminds us that each one is handmade without use of any mechanical drawing instruments or computer programs.  It is amazing that we see fewer of these change of plans by potters.  That reinforces our admiration for the talent they possess.

The design layout on this jar starts with paired black lines that divide the painted area into six equal triangular quadrants.  Within these triangles, the design is the same but anchored to a bottom framing line in some and anchored from a rim framing line in alternate triangles.

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Santo Domingo Polychrome is a typology designation that has been used for over a hundred years. Now that the pueblo has gone back to using its ancestral name, Kewa, there could be some confusion as to whether Santo Domingo Polychrome or Kewa Polychrome is the correct typological designation. Most likely, Santo Domingo Polychrome will continue to be used until there is an official recognition of a typology name change, which is not likely.

This bowl is typical of the size of a food serving bowl. It is slipped on the interior with a polished cream finish, has a single design element in the bottom, has a black rim with the traditional ceremonial line break, and a red clay polished underbody. There is no rag-wiped red band just below the design field.

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Shulawitsi is almost an exact duplicate of the Hopi Kokosori, but he is not related to Kokosori.  A young boy who is innocent and pure of heart usually performs him. He carries a fire stick, signifying his responsibility as caretaker of one of the important physical elements of the universe: fire. He is responsible for lighting fires before the Shalako ceremony prior to the winter solstice. The lighting of these fires is the signal for the Shalako to begin their ritual. 

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In the 1980s and 1990s, I made bi-weekly trips to the Hopi Reservation to purchase katsina dolls from specific carvers.  One carver whose dolls I particularly liked was Lowell Talashoma who lived in the village of Shongopavi.  Eventually, Lowell introduced me to his younger brother, Todd, who lived in the village of Moenkopi.  I discovered that Todd was producing exceptional carvings but they were not like those of his brother.

Lowell was slim and his carvings portrayed slim images.  Todd Talashoma was a beefy person, not fat, just beefy, and his carvings mirrored his body style.  I found it interesting that each of them carved in the likeness of their own body styles.

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This rather primitive small Zia Pueblo jar is charming in its own way.  The historic vessel wall is a little bumpy, meaning it has not been sanded smooth as have later jars.  The cream Zia slip covering the jar has a yellowish tinge in color perhaps as a result of the potter mixing something with the clay she planned to use for the slip. 

The Zia birds are absolutely charming and somewhat childish in execution which makes them even more likable.  The birds have exquisite head feathers as crowns.  The plants sport orange flowers and deep red flowers, contributing to the four-color designation on the historic jar.

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Without question, the first impression one has of this magnificent large storage jar is that it was made at Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Pueblo in the late 1800s.  We have been conditioned to see such a jar as being made only at San Juan because the placement of the red slip only partially down the vessel wall and the numerous fire clouds are traditional to San Juan Pueblo.

Thanks to studies by Frank Harlow and Jonathan Batkin, we know to look more closely to the materials of the vessel rather than only to its surface manifestations.  The paste of San Juan Pueblo pottery, and of its sister Tewa Pueblos, is tan in color and can be witnessed on the stone-polished un-slipped bases of most jars.  An examination of this storage jar reveals that the paste is not of the type used at the Tewa Pueblos.

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