Hopi Pueblo Polychrome Domed Pottery Wall Plaque [SOLD]

This Hopi Pueblo domed pottery wall hanging was painted in the traditional Sikyatki design style-the top ¼ with one design and the bottom ¾ with another design. The top would appear to be the eyes of a katsina but that may or may not be the intent. It may just be a non-defined design. The lower design is a revival of the Sikyatki-style curved bird with triple tail feathers and bird's head off to the left and the body stretching off to the right. The two design sections were divided by a pair of thin lines. The interior, or back of the plaque, is undecorated stone-polished clay.

Pottery of the southwest has been made for the past two thousand years by pueblo peoples in the same manner and with the same materials. What has changed since the beginning of the twentieth century is that pottery has been made to satisfy a non-pueblo function aimed at the tourist trade.

Decorative art objects were not made for pueblo household decorations. There was no time and no need to spend effort to make items for nonfunctional use. It was only after tourists began visiting the pueblos that potters began catering to their needs.

This domed Hopi Pueblo piece was made as a wall hanging. There is no functional use for it other than decoration. As non-pueblo homeowners, we admire the work of the potters and seek items with which to decorate our homes and to enjoy having them in view. For us, they serve as important a function as utilitarian pottery served earlier pueblo functions. Our admiration for the work of today's potters is demonstrated by the collections we make and enjoy.

Condition: this Hopi Pueblo Polychrome Domed Pottery Wall Plaque  is in very good condition

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a Colorado family

Recommended Reading: Collections of Southwestern Pottery: Candlesticks to Canteens, Frogs to Figurines by Hayes and Blom

Relative Links: Pottery of the southwest, Hopi Pueblo, utilitarian pottery