Damacia Cordero was a legend from Cochiti Pueblo. Her storyteller figurines and animal creations were unlike any other potter's work. This storyteller figurine, possibly a male, has the elongated torso, short legs, big ears, protruding nose and flat face of her traditional style.

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This Southwest Indian Pottery figurine set includes two horses, wagon, male and female adults, child, bench and dog.  It is one of the items I commissioned decades ago from Maria I. Naranjo (1924-2006) Margarita of Santa Clara Pueblo.  As I have mentioned on other occasions, I first commissioned her to make for me a three-piece black train set similar to one in a photograph I showed her from the Museum of New Mexico collection.  She made the set for me.  I then commissioned her to make a Noah's Ark, which she did, then in 1985, I asked her to make this horse and wagon set.  I got it from her on December 5, 1985 and kept it in my collection until I sold it to an individual associated with Worcester Polytech Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, on November 30, 1989.  Now, 26 years later, here it is again back in New Mexico!

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Probably one of the most difficult pueblos from which to find an older piece of pottery is Picuris Pueblo. It is difficult to determine if an older piece of micaceous pottery was made at Picuris or Taos.

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This Southwest Indian Pottery ladle appears to have been designed to permit the contents of the bowl to be dispensed through the handle and out the end of the handle.  The handle is hollow and connects to the bowl where there is an opening.  Perhaps that was a way to pour the liquid in a more controlled manner.  The bowl is shaped in a way that it would be hard to pour from the edge so pouring through the handle seems quite logical.  It is likely that the idea for this vessel shape would have been inspired by a gourd.

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   Virginia Ebelacker, daughter of Alcario and Margaret Tafoya, and granddaughter of Geronimo and Sara Fina Tafoya, was not a prolific potter because she had a full-time job at Los Alamos National Labs.  She worked in metallography and plastics and shaped and refined metal and plastics as a profession and was honored for her scientific contributions on both mediums.

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This narrow silver band with delicate turquoise stones was very popular in the 1920s-1940s. Usually it was worn with a half dozen or more other thin bracelets. This one has developed an excellent patina during its lifetime. The turquoise has turned green as it does after years of handling.

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It appears that this was a pendant or necklace in previous times but has been converted to a pin by the addition of a clasp on the back. I think it works beautifully as a pin, probably more visual than as a necklace.

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Three beautiful blue-green turquoise cabs are mounted on the two triangular shaped silver bars that are connected at the ends and separate as the bracelet expands upward.  Each turquoise cab is secured in a silver bezel that is surrounded by twisted silver wire.  The Southwest Indian Jewelry bracelet is Navajo-made but not signed by the artist.

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Maria and Julian's son, Adam Martinez (1903-2000), was the longest-living male of the family and perhaps the longest-living of anyone in the family.  He was not generally known as a potter but primarily helped Maria and Santana with gathering and mixing clay for their pottery and for firing the completed pieces.

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Barbara Gonzales (1947- ) Than Moo Whe is an excellent potter and an extension of her famous great-grandmother, Maria Martinez, and her grandparents, Adam and Santana Martinez. Her mother, Anita Martinez, was also a potter. Drawing on the traditions of her family, she expanded this tradition by personalizing her Southwest Indian Pottery with inlaid coral and turquoise on etched black and sienna wares-often inlaid on spider designs which she created in 1973.

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This jar is signed Maria Poveka and does not have a date added to the signature so we must assume it dates to the late 1950s.  This is a superb example of San Ildefonso blackware created by Maria. These undecorated black polished vessels are some of the most beautiful Southwest Indian Pottery made by her. Their beauty is in the shape and burnish, and decoration is unnecessary. Without some of the visual excess of the painted works, these late blackware pieces can be truly appreciated from a more minimal, formalist stance. In this late work, proportion, scale, and excellence of polish are key factors.

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This painting by Johnny Secatero was painted before 1976.   It is about Koshare Clowns, Mudheads and an Owl Katsina playing around chasing each other.  One Mudhead holds a tree branch he is brandishing around to keep the others from attacking him.

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This exquisite small bowl is attributed to Nampeyo of Hano based on construction techniques, layout of design, and execution of design.  One of the first items of consideration is the extra coil of clay Nampeyo placed at the rim of bowls which is quite obvious on this small bowl.  The bottom is rounded, not flattened, and shows evidence of long polishing strokes as was typical of Nampeyo.  The layout of the design divided into one-third/two-third separation is very typical of her layout.  The design is reminiscent of one on page 241D of the book Canvas of Clay (see reference below) which is acknowledged as a design used by Nampeyo. 

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The previous owner of this fetish necklace owned a shop selling Native American items a number of years ago.  She selected the best fetishes from particular carvers whose work she admired and set them aside until she had accumulated enough to have one of the artisans string them into this necklace.  There are 65 fetishes from a variety of stones and shells and 32 fetishes from turquoise.  All of the turquoise fetishes were strung on a single strand and the other fetishes divided among two strands.  The hieshe is shell.  The three strands are grouped together with the traditional pueblo wrap.

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This Navajo-made bracelet was formed from ingot silver.  Three strips of silver expand outward from the ends of the bracelet and a large oval Morenci turquoise stone sits on the center.  Stamped designs of traditional Navajo style cover all the exposed silver foundation.  Repoussé leaves flank the stone.

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This Navajo bracelet was made from heavy ingot silver.  There are three silver bars that are spread apart except for being joined at the ends of the bracelet.  Mounted on top of the split portion of the silver bars is a flat sheet of silver on which are mounted the essences of the bracelet-beautiful blue Burnham turquoise from Nevada.  The bracelet dates to circa 1940s.

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This painting depicts male and female deities of the Diné.  It may seem out of place for a pueblo artist to paint subjects of the Diné culture but it is an accepted practice.  The Native religions are similar even in their differences.  Paintings of Katsinas and paintings of Yei are both depicting Native supernatural deities.  Both Helen and her mother, Pablita Velarde, painted Yei deities on rare occasions.

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Robert Daughters (1929-2013) specialized in painting landscapes and people of Northern New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico. At the time, he lived in Taos, New Mexico, in a house built by Oscar E. Berninghaus. Daughters was a co-founder of the group of artists known as the Taos Six. The others with him in this group were Walt Gonske, Rod Gobels, Ron Bursano, Ray Vinalla and Julian Robles.

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Cochiti Pueblo potters are recognized as the 20th century's most adept potters at making humorous figurines, whether they are of people or animals. This Koosa clown has a large nose, big eyes, wide open mouth and is holding his arms up in the air. The cornhusks on top of his head represent his hair.

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   Persingula Gachupin was the matriarch of a family of outstanding potters. She was the mother of Marie Romero and grandmother of Maxine Toya-both of whom were exceptional potters. She always used traditional clay and materials in her work. She, along with her daughter Marie Romero, were among the first potters at Jemez Pueblo to make storytellers and nacimientos.

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