Hopi and Navajo Miniature Seed Jar by Nathan Begaye [SOLD]

At first glance, one would suspect that this stone-polished red seed jar originated at Santa Clara Pueblo, but in reality it was the creation of an artist named Nathan Begaye who was a Native American ceramics artist of Navajo and Hopi descent.  One might expect his pottery to resemble that of the Hopi or the Navajo, however he was unorthodox in his work.  

His choice of a Santa Clara Pueblo style for this seed jar emphasizes his "maverick sense of form, texture, color, and design,” a term associated with him.  The triangles surrounding the rim are filled with multi-color slips and black fine lines.  The white outline adds emphasis to the design.

Nathan Begaye was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1969 to a Navajo father and a Hopi mother.  He was raised by his maternal grandparents in a village of Third Mesa, and Tuba City, Arizona.  His aunt was noted Hopi potter Otellie Loloma. His upbringing in the Navajo/Hopi communities was steeped in tribal traditions, and he was schooled in the lore, history, religion, symbolism, and customs of the Navajo and Hopi peoples.

Begaye's interest in pottery began early, at age 10, and he had his first public exhibition only one year later.  He learned traditional techniques and pigment recipes from people in his tribal community, both Navajo and Hopi.  As they were tribal secrets, he kept these to himself even when he became a teacher later in life.  After receiving a SWAIA scholarship, he left home at age 14 to study ceramics at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe.

Nathan Begaye (1969–2010) exhibited at Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS; Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM; Stedelijk Museum’s, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC; and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Hopi and Navajo Miniature Seed Jar by Nathan Begaye is from the estate of a resident of Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 1: Contemporary Native American Art from the Southwest by David Revere McFadden, and Ellen Napiura Taubman, editors, 2002.

Relative Links: Hopi Pueblo, Southwest Indian Pottery, Navajo Nation, Nathan Begaye, Native American Artist