Modern Santa Clara Carved Blackware Terrace Rim Bowl by Nathan Youngblood

This beautiful blackware pottery bowl was created by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Nathan Youngblood.  Four repetitions of a stepped element rise from its rim and bend slightly outward, creating a modern variation of a traditional ceremonial form.  Youngblood drilled holes into the center of each of the raised elements.  With an actual ceremonial vessel, eagle down feathers would be strung from these holes.

Youngblood’s work with this piece is excellent in every way.  The bowl’s polished surfaces are gorgeous, with pools of reflected light gathering in curved corners and a perfectly consistent look throughout.  A matte-finished line circles the bowl’s exterior, matching the tone of its rim.  This is a thick-walled piece, which is typical of Santa Clara pottery—this level of depth allows for the typical carved design patterns.  Here, of course, there are no carved designs, but the thick walls suit the piece perfectly.  As a whole, it feels very strong and carries a powerful presence.  This is typical of Youngblood’s work, but each one is truly unique, so we are always pleased to spend some time with a new arrival.  This exceptional piece of pueblo pottery pays tribute to the past while looking toward the future.

The bottom of the bowl is signed Nathan Youngblood with his hallmark path of deer tracks.

Nathan Youngblood (1954- ) Deer Path is an outstanding artist from a family of many outstanding potters.  He is the grandson of Margaret Tafoya and son of Mela Youngblood. His sister is Nancy Youngblood.  Youngblood is known for his creative designs and technical precision. His burnishing is very fine, and he finely sands the edges of his carved designs. Like his grandmother, he believes in the importance of traditional firing one pot at a time, thus greatly diminishing the chance of damage to pottery that may have taken 300 to 400 hours of preparation.

Youngblood has served on the Board of Directors of the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe and volunteered his time at the annual Wheelwright auction.  He has also served on the boards for the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial and the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts, the producer of Santa Fe Indian Market.  He has been a board member of the American Crafts Council in New York, on the advisory board for the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, and the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe.  He has lectured at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the Denver Museum of Natural History, and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe as well as numerous other venues.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Modern Santa Clara Carved Blackware Terrace Rim Bowl by Nathan Youngblood is from a private New Mexico collection, purchased in 1990 from Gallery 10 in Scottsdale, AZ

Reference: Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf. 

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo,Santa Fe, Pottery, Margaret Tafoya, Mela Youngblood, Nancy Youngblood, Nathan Youngblood, Santa Clara Pueblo Potter