It was around 1880 when the transcontinental train passed through the Southwest.  The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway teamed up with The Fred Harvey Company to enthusiastically promote the native cultures and the artists of Taos and Santa Fe. They also heavily promoted the Hopi, primarily because of the semi-annual Snake Dance ceremony.   They must be given credit for changing America's attitude toward its native cultures, particularly in the Southwest. 

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This very dainty silver framework holds a significantly beautiful very dark turquoise stone that has a beautiful copper color matrix interspersed within the turquoise stone.  The turquoise is held in place with a silver bezel that is scored every eighth inch.  In the shadow box surrounding the turquoise are raised silver dots.  The outer rim of the silver top is scored on the edges. 

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Santo Domingo Pueblo is located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe along the Camino Real, the old trade road between Mexico and Santa Fe. The people of Santo Domingo, now referred to as Kewa Pueblo, traditionally have been known as great traders. During the Depression, when the economy prevented them from being able to purchase high grade materials, the artists of Santo Domingo used less expensive materials to create jewelry to sell to tourists.

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For their own use, many Navajo prefer jewelry arranged in cluster form.  Large cluster bracelets are often seen on Navajo women at powwows and walking around Gallup, New Mexico.  Cluster rings also share in this popularity.

This cluster ring has 15 tear-drop shaped blue and green turquoise cabs arranged on an oval silver backing. This ring is probably no more recent that the 1950s.  All of the turquoise stones are in excellent condition.

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The foundation of this bracelet consists of three silver wires joined at their ends with a silver cross wire.  The essence of the bracelet is the top which consists of three platforms with turquoise cabs in silver bezels.

The center of the bracelet is a flower design of 9 beautiful turquoise cabs of varying shapes and color.  Flanking this center medallion are arrangements of 7 turquoise cabs displayed in two rows.  Each of these has turquoise stones of varying sizes, shapes and colors.

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The Navajo learned silver working from the Spanish in the middle of the 19th century. One of the earliest designs they made was what is referred to as a "Squash Blossom." It resembles the blossom of a squash. The blossom that it was fashioned after was actually that of the pomegranate.  The handmade blossoms of this pair of earrings dangle from sterling silver screw backs.

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A beautiful green turquoise cab is securely held in place by a silver bezel that is sculpted around its edge.  Around the bezel is a twisted silver wire rope.  The ring is supported by a split shank silver band.  It is these simpler silver rings that are the early ones.  Later, it became popular to add silver adornments such as leaves around the stone.  The simplicity of the early ones is responsible for their popularity. 

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Zuni artists have been crafting turquoise for jewelry since prehistoric times. They are known as masters of stone cutting. After they learned silversmithing from their Navajo neighbors, they began to set small pieces of stone into intricate bezels to create delicate designs in jewelry. 

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This pottery figurine represents an Antelope Dancer performing in the Pueblo's plaza.  The two sticks serve as the forelegs of the antelope.  The figurine is not signed with the name of an artist.  It would be an excellent addition to a Cochiti Pueblo nativity scene or nacimiento. 

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Josephine Arquero is a daughter of Damacia Cordero and sister to Martha Arquero, Marie Laweka and Gloria Herrera, all of whom are recognized potters.  Josephine specializes in figurative pottery-mostly storytellers, nacimientos, and animals.  

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Vessels such as this small Zuni bowl suggest use in ceremonial functions but most likely that has not occurred. It is more likely that such were made solely to sell to tourists.  Zuni elders would not have permitted ceremonial vessels to leave the pueblo and be sold.

An interesting story will illustrate the events that dealers would go to in order to sell pottery, and probably other Native items, in the early 1900s.  Museums were eager to acquire ceremonial objects which, of course, were not generally available unless someone from the pueblo sold something without permission to do so.

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Bowls of this style generally have a handle in the form of a rainbow that crosses the bowl from rim to rim.  Rarely, if ever, are the handles attached to a terrace structure. Most bowls of this style have a footed base and four terrace projections.  Designs are always associated with water creatures-frogs, tadpoles, dragonflies and the Avanyu.

These style bowls are regularly used in ceremonial functions but are occasionally made for sale to collectors.  I once witnessed a traditionally-dressed Mudhead Katsina at Zuni walking on the edge of the highway carrying a bowl similar to this one.  It is presumed that he was sprinkling sacred cornmeal as he walked.  Bowls similar to this one were collected in 1887 for the Smithsonian Institution.

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In the first decade following the creation of the storyteller figurine by Helen Cordero, only about eight potters at Cochiti Pueblo were producing such figurines. It was these eight potters that we featured in our first Storyteller Exhibit in the early 1980s. Among them was Seferina Ortiz. She is one of the earliest and long-lasting potters to make storyteller figurines. 

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This figurine is a single pottery creation of an Angel.  It is perfect for those who collect Angels or for someone who has a nacimiento by Rita Lewis and wishes to add another piece to the set.  

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The set is a wonderful representation by a Cochiti Pueblo potter named Josie Hand.  Josephine "Josie" Hand was born on September 17, 1932 in Cochiti Pueblo to her parents Paul and Felipa Trujillo.  She married George Hand from the state of Texas.   She was known for making pottery figurines - to include storytellers, nacimientos - or Nativity scenes.  Josie Hand passed away on January 3, 2013.

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This storyteller figurine is signed on the bottom Cochet[i] Pueblo N.M. in what appears to be paint before firing.  There is no artist name.  I do not recognize the facial feature extensively enough to hazard a guess as to who the artist might have been so we will accept it on its own merits without the benefit of knowing the name of the potter.

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Josephine Arquero is a daughter of Damacia Cordero and sister to Martha Arquero, Marie Laweka and Gloria Herrera, all of whom are recognized potters.  Josephine specializes in figurative pottery-mostly storytellers, nacimientos, and animals.  She dresses her human figures in traditional clothing.  Based on the features of this figurine.

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Elizabeth Trujillo is best known for making large storage jars, ollas, bowls, lamp bases, mugs and figurines.  In 1990, her large storage jar was judged best pot at Santa Fe's Indian Market.  We have had stew bowls by her in the past but never a storyteller figurine so it is nice to have one of those. 

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Juan Tafoya was a well-known San Ildefosno potter who passed away prematurely at age 57 years.  He specialized in sgraffito designs where he would chip away at the polished slip to form a textured background for his design, in this instance for the design of the Avanyu (water serpent).  After firing the jar in a reduction firing to achieve a black finish, he then re-oxidized the designed area to bring the black color to sienna, after which he inserted the turquoise cab. 

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Rose Gonzales was an accomplished potter who experimented for years with blackware, redware, black-on-black ware and carved ware. She became very proficient at all styles.  According to Russell Sanchez of San Ildefonso Pueblo, she frequently fired up to twenty pots in a single firing, a feat most potters will not try.  If one pot explodes during firing, it could damage all the pots surrounding it causing a great loss.  Rose was confident enough in her work not to worry about a pot exploding.  She would fire redware and blackware in the same firing.  She first removed the red pots from the fire then smothered the fire with pulverized manure and left the remaining pots in the firing for another hour or so to produce blackware.  Most potters fire redware and blackware in separate firings.

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