Zuni Pueblo pottery from the 1760 to 1860 period has been named Kiapkwa Polychrome.  Traits of Kiapkwa Polychrome are black rim tops and red slip on the underbody.  A decade later (1870), changes began to be noticed.  The red underbodies began to be painted over by black pigment.  It took several decades for the transition to be complete.  The red bottoms disappeared completely by 1895.  Other changes occurred on jars but less noticeably on bowls.

Read more about this historic bowl here.

Chuck and Jan Rosenak, authors and collectors of Navajo folk art, give credit to Navajo trader Jack Beasley of Farmington, New Mexico, for bringing attention nationwide to the crafts of the Navajo.  Jack had operated a trading post in the 1970s and then he and his wife opened a gallery in Farmington, New Mexico, in 1989.  Quite familiar with the arts of the Navajo from his trading post days, Beasley featured it in the gallery and concentrated on the folk art style of which by then he was quite familiar.  Beasley was partly responsible for igniting the fire in the Rosenaks for folk art of the Navajo.

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Authors and collectors Chuck and Jan Rosenak are largely responsible for bringing to attention the craft now known as Navajo folk art.  They credit Navajo trader Jack Beasley from Farmington, New Mexico, for bringing the makers of this wonderful creative art form to their attention.  When beginning their search for folk art artist on the Navajo reservation, the Rosenaks defined folk art as "work by untrained, self-taught artists that is nonutilitarian, highly personal, even idiosyncratic.  The craft may be derived from communal traditions, but something personal must be added to qualify it as art.  In other words, the craft may be learned, but the art is self-taught."

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The traditional perception of Navajo folk art is weavings and silver and turquoise jewelry, but the contemporary artists of the Navajo Nation produce wood carvings, sun-dried mud toys, fired pottery, pictorial weavings and cardboard cutout figurines.  It is the latter category that is of interest to us here.

Mamie Deschillie, an older Navajo woman, born in 1920, created a new folk art style in the 1980s that has made her one of the "superstars" of Navajo folk art.

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   Navajo Folk Art was discovered and brought to the attention of folk art collectors in the 1970s by Chuck and Jan Rosenak.  It is not that they created it or caused it to happen.  They were on a nation-wide search for folk art from the east to the west and north to the south.  Most of the folk art they discovered came out of immigrant-generated craft traditions from the old world.

Read more about this fold art here.

This Colophon print was printed from the original woodblock hand-carved by Gustave Baumann (1881-1971).  None of the prints in Colophon were ever signed in pencil, but this one does include Baumann's initials and his monogram cypher of a hand palm in a heart in the lower left corner.  No other editions of this woodcut were ever issued.

Read more about this print here.

Known for breaking down natural shapes into geometric patterns of line and color, Kenneth Adams became the last and youngest member of the Taos Society of Artists. In contrast to the other members, whose work was grounded in late 19th-Century academic principles, he was a contemporary realist, deeply influenced by Cubist experiments of the French artist, Cezanne, and American modernist, Andrew Dasburg. Adams was a key figure in New Mexico art circles and bridged the "old guard" artists and new arrivals.

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Earrings of silver loops and silver balls are one of the oldest style made and worn by Navajo men.  Curtis photographs of Navajo men documented their use.  Generally they were comprised of one look and one silver ball.  This set, however, is more elaborate.

Read more about this jewelry here.

These charming earrings, made by an unknown Navajo jeweler, were constructed from silver wire for the spider's legs and a small silver strip for the bezel that secures the turquoise stone.  The Southwest Indian Jewelry earrings are fitted for pierced ears.

Read more about this jewelry here.

Mostly, this artist is known to collectors as Percy Sandy or Kai-Sa, but Sandy is a corruption of his name, which is Tsisete.  Generally, however, he signed Percy Sandy or Kai-Sa.  He was born at Zuni Pueblo in 1918 and attended elementary and secondary schools in Zuni.  He attended Santa Fe Indian School to do postgraduate work.  He later moved from Zuni to Taos where he died in 1974.

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Chile bowls have their start in life as any other pottery bowl-that is they have a clay bottom formed in a puki and side walls that grow upward one coil at a time.  Their walls are scraped and sanded and eventually painted with a design of the choice of the potter or a design fostered by tradition.  The best view of a bowl is from the side at a slight angle so one can appreciate the decorated exterior and have a glimpse of the interior below the rim.  The interior of a utilitarian bowl is not decorated but the patina developed over years or decades of use is worth viewing.

Read more about this Kewa pottery here.

   Santo Domingo members are known as being the most aggressive traders in a pueblo that otherwise is considered very conservative.  Santo Domingo men boarded the trains that passed the pueblo daily, starting in 1880, to sell pottery being made by the female family members.  Sales such as these provided funds for the purchase of supplies and foods from stores or the trading post.  The leaders at the pueblo tolerated the men selling pottery to outsiders but frowned upon and discouraged the women from dealing with outsiders.  The elders also forbade the sale of other pueblo items such as costuming or clothing used in dance celebrations.

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Before 1850, the pottery of Santo Domingo and Cochiti Pueblos, two Keresan-speaking groups, was indistinguishable.  It was virtually the same and was generally referred to as Kiua Polychrome.  With the arrival of the transcontinental rail line in 1880, the similarity began to diverge.  Cochiti, more than 16 miles from the rail line, and Santo Domingo, adjacent to the rail line, began to diverge in pottery styles.  Cochiti retained its traditions and Santo Domingo began to respond to the needs of the outside world.

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Many collectors enjoy adding pottery to their collection if it evidences ethnographic use, that is they want an item that was actually used at the pueblo before being sold to an outsider.  Many historic jars and dough bowls were used at the pueblo before leaving for the consumer market, but very little contemporary pottery falls into that category.  The exception is small serving bowls.  Many chile bowls that were used extensively or minimally at the pueblo from the last half of the 20^thcentury eventually appear on the commercial market.  Perhaps that is because replacing a small bowl for pueblo use is easier that replacing a water jar or dough bowl or perhaps it is because such small bowls are more affordable.

Read more about this Kewa bowl here.

Tina Garcia was a granddaughter of Severa Tafoya (1890-1973), who was a sister of Van Gutierrez of Lela and Van fame.  Tina's mom, Lydia Tafoya, was from Santa Clara Pueblo and her father, Santiago Garcia, from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.  Tina sometimes signed her pottery with the names of both pueblos.

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Joy Navasie is among the most famous of Hopi-Tewa potters. She learned the skill from her famous mother, Paqua Naha, the first Frog Woman, who had developed white-slipped pottery in the mid-1950s. Joy Navasie picked up the tradition and continued it until her retirement in 1995. Her daughters are now continuing the tradition.

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After the arrival of the railroad in the American Southwest, Fred Harvey opened a chain of hotels along the route and marketed these places as exotic destinations. The art and architecture of these hotels were intended to reflect the vision Harvey had created as typically "Southwestern." The souvenirs sold at his restaurants and hotels were made to appeal to the esthetic of the traveler. Small items which were easy to carry were most popular.

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Letter openers were popular items for tourists traveling along the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in the mid-20^th Century. Some featured fancy designs that the Fred Harvey encouraged his artists to make. Others were the creative expressions of the individual. Traditionally Navajo silversmiths used silver to highlight the beauty and radiance of an individual stone.

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The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, also known as the Santa Fe Railroad, arrived in New Mexico in 1880.  Shortly after, the Fred Harvey Company set up hotels at various locations along the route and promoted the American Southwest as an exotic destination. The company sold handcrafted souvenirs made by the local Native American people. Textiles, pottery, baskets and silverwork were sold in gift shops in the hotels and restaurants.  This enterprise provided new opportunities for the indigenous people to make a living.

Read more about this letter opener here.

Tony Da started his art career as a painter at a very young age and continued painting throughout high school and afterwards.  It was not until he lived with his Grandmother, Maria Martinez, that he became a potter.  He moved in with Maria in 1966 and began the process of making pottery under her tutelage.  His timing was perfect, as the 1960s was a period of great interest in pueblo pottery.

Read more about this pottery here.