Nampeyo Historic Hopi Pueblo Small Pottery Jar with Sloping Shoulder, circa 1880 [SOLD]

This historic Hopi Pueblo small pottery jar is one of Nampeyo’s white-slip creations.  These early jars by Nampeyo are often simple in design, as is this one.  It is such simplicity that makes it so appealing. The thick framing line at the neck and the pair of thinner framing lines at the midpoint of the jar define the area of design.  The long thin swirl lines on the slope of the neck are very typical of a design which Nampeyo continued to use later. The very minimum red slip in the design is indicative of her early work.  The rim is red. The jar would date to 1880 or so.

As seen frequently in Nampeyo’s early works, the bottom of the vessel is slightly rounded, a trait that sometimes results in the vessel tilting slightly, as in this jar.

This is the ultimate item to define the early works of Nampeyo of Hano and is a good example for inclusion in any collection of her work.

Condition:  this Nampeyo Historic Hopi Pueblo Small Pottery Jar with Sloping Shoulder, circa 1880, is in very good condition

Provenance: from the estate of Santa Fe dealer and collector Martha (Marti) Struever who passed away in August 2017.

Recommended Reading:  In Search of Nampeyo: The Early Years, 1875-1892 by Steve Elmore

Image: We are appreciative to Hopi-Tewa potter, Mark Tahbo, for sharing this photograph with us. The photograph was recently found in a burned out home at First Mesa.  This image was later identified as having been taken on July 8, 1913, by photographer Joseph K. Dixon. It is part of the Wanamaker Collection of American Indian Photographs at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, Indiana University, catalog #1962-08-3279.

Relative Links: Historic Pottery, Nampeyo of Hano, Martha Struever