Bowls represent the lower half of the earth and, as such, represent the area where food is grown for nourishment of the people.  They are used for food preparation, for serving food, and for use as a lid or covering to be placed over another container for protection of the contents.  Such a concept adds immensely to our appreciation of what we normally consider as just a bowl.

This small bowl appears to have been sold before ever being used at the pueblo.  There is no evidence that it was used for serving food.  One explanation of the design on the exterior is "deer hooves" but that is probably just an interpretation that may or may not bear fruit.

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When we post an item of pottery as Contemporary, we do not mean to indicate that it is new, but that it dates to after 1940.  There has been considerable disagreement among scholars, dealers, and collectors about the end of the historic period and the beginning of the contemporary period in pueblo pottery production.  Earlier scholars, such as Francis Harlow, set the end of the historic period at 1880 to coincide with the arrival of the intercontinental train to New Mexico and its influence on pottery styles.  Others have set the end date of the historic period as 1920s because that was the beginning of the black-on-black pottery and publicity by the Museum of New Mexico on pueblo pottery.  Lastly, Jonathan Batkin selected 1940 as the end of the historic period which would set the beginning of the contemporary period at that time.  

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Zuni Pueblo artisans are known worldwide as phenomenal lapidary artisans and jewelry makers.  They are masters at cutting stones and fitting those stone-to-stone to form mosaic imagery in jewelry.  The three Knifewing images are imbedded into the silver band in a manner that the stones are smooth and level with the silver.

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Palhikmana is a female katsina or katsina maiden to whom is inscribed several functions.  She appears during Angk'wa as a Butterfly maiden or Corn-Grinding maiden.  She also appears in the performance of a special dance. 

Angk'wa is a ceremony which encompasses the entire month of March during which a series of night dances is performed in each Hopi village.  These rituals will continue until sometime in July when the katsinam season ends and the katsinam return to their home in the San Francisco Mountains.

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Qöqolo Katsinam appear in various colors representing the colors of the six directions-north, west, south, east, universe, and the underworld.  The Sikyaqölo is the yellow one and he "is the artist, practicing the art of agrarian culture and producing the colorful gifts that he brings for children at the Powanuya ceremony."  Secakuku 1995

Powamuya is a ceremony imploring the katsinam to appear among the Hopi for the benefit of life for all mankind.  It begins in February at sunrise when Ahöla blesses the village and prepares it for the arrival of the katsinam. 

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This bracelet is stamped NORA.  None of our reference books on jeweler's hallmarks lists anyone by that name.  Perhaps that is a first name, not a last name.  The bracelet was beautifully constructed and stamped.  It appears to be from ingot silver and has a significant thickness. 

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This Navajo-style bracelet is stamped with the name NORA, a name not found in any reference books relating to silversmiths.  The band appears to be from ingot silver, is wide and sturdy.  The stamping resembles Hopi silver overlay but is believed to be of Navajo origin.

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This bracelet appears to have been fashioned from ingot silver.  It is stamped Sterling and with the name NORA, a name not found in any reference books relating to silversmithing.  The design has the appearance of Hopi silver overlay work, but it is of Navajo origin.

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This wide silver band has raised diamond-shape protrusions running across the middle of the bracelet from end to end.  They were punched outward from the back of the bracelet.  The remaining designs were stamped from the front of the Wide Silver Band with Pyramidal Design bracelet.  The name LEO is stamped on the back.  The artisan has not been identified.

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This black-on-red Hopi Large Humpback Pottery Canteen is of the same shape as those seen in kivas a century ago, but it is beautifully decorated.  The upper half is decorated and the lower half is not.  There are two loop handles and a spout just below the decorated section.  The spout has a slight upturn in shape.  The bottom of the canteen is rounded, not flat, most likely to facilitate embedding it into the dirt floor. 

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It is not uncommon for dealers and traders to be asked if a certain design on pottery or textiles has a meaning.  Often, the answer is one of restraint as it is probable that designs were given meaning by early traders to add mysticism and intrigue, and those designs may or may not have had any meaning to the artisan.  It is quite likely that some designs do have meaning but, if so, those meanings remain as secrets to the members of the tribe as they are not indiscriminately divulged to those outside the tribe.

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This Navajo - Diné Sterling Silver Concha/Concho Belt consists of 8 oval Conchas/Conchos, 9 rectangular butterflies, and an oval buckle all strung on a black leather belt that is ¾-inch wide.  Each Concha/Concho is domed with a raised diamond shape at the center and stamping around the perimeter and with scalloped edges with stamping.  Each butterfly has repoussé rays radiating out from a raised center oval that is surrounded by minute stamping.  The buckle is similar in design to the Conchas/Conchos but slightly larger and with slightly different stamping.

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There is very little information published on Geronima Gachupin Medina (1892-1972) Ts'aadawei' other than she was born circa 1882 and began to be an active potter around 1910.  She was the wife of José Medina (1893-1970) and the mother of Eralia and Rosita Medina.  Her sisters were Trinidad Gachupin Medina and Reyes Gachupin Moquino/Pino.  The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK has one of her pots collected in 1939.  It is pictured in Figure 14.44 in The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanman.  It is an unsigned jar but was most likely purchased from the potter.

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Olaf Wieghorst (1899-1988) wandered extensively through the West, sometimes on horseback, finding work in Arizona and New Mexico as a cowboy. Then he went to New York and served as a mounted policeman until 1944, spending most of his time patrolling the Central Park bridle paths and saving many people injury from runaway horses. He began painting in his spare time, and was successful enough that his work was represented by the Grand Central Art Galleries of the Biltmore Hotel.

In 1944, he settled in El Cajon, California. His paintings include cowboys, horses, and Indians in landscape, but there is little if any collectible art of his from his early days in the West. His primary output came after his return to California when he began painting cowboys and horses extensively. He did numerous horse portraits, spending time on ranches studying their unique personalities. He painted celebrity horses including Roy Rogers' Trigger, Gene Autry's Champion and Tom Morgan's stallion.

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Popovi Da (Red Fox) is the son of famous San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez and her artist husband Julian Martinez. He was born on April 10, 1923 at San Ildefonso Pueblo and died on October 17, 1971 in Santa Fe. He formally and legally changed his name from Tony Martinez to his Tewa name, Popovi Da. He was educated at the Santa Fe Indian School, where he graduated in 1939. Da was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He lived most of his life in San Ildefonso Pueblo.

Da listed his varied occupations as arts and crafts shop owner, Governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo, ceramics painter and designer, silversmith and painter. He was elected Governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1952, and was Chairman of the All-Indian Pueblo Council.

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José Disiderio (J.D.) Roybal [1922-1978] Oquwa - Rain God is best known for his portrayal of the Koshari or Koosa Clowns.  His paintings present traditional pueblo ceremonies and legends in a realistic and symbolic manner, often with added touches of humor.  In this painting, Koosa Clowns are cavorting with Avanyu, who are wrapped around a rainbow. The Avanyu are offering blessings to the Koosa.

The Koosa Clowns on the rainbow and those below suggests much joviality in their actions and facial expressions.  The female figure in the center of the painting has the appearance of a Katsina, however, I do not know the explanation for her. The painting is circa 1950s.

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Gilbert Atencio has certainly been recognized as one of the finest Native American artists of the 20th century.  He painted mostly in his spare time after a full day of work as a medical illustrator at Los Alamos National Labs, near the pueblo reservation.  He worked a full career and retired around 1990.

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This is a superlative Original Painting of a Single Antelope Dancer by Julian Martinez, one of the premier pueblo painters of the early 20th century. This fantastic, evocative, and subtly beautiful image depicts an Antelope Dancer in profile, and is executed in gouache on paper. The figure was created in contour with pencil and then wonderfully realized in opaque pigment, with all the traditional accoutrements of the dancer. The prominent headdress frames the coal-black face of the dancer, with feathered embellishments falling to the rear, over the dancer's back and neck. A hand-woven cotton sash secures the oversize shirt, with a fine polychrome dance kilt, embellished yarn/trade bell garters, feathered dance wands, and embellished moccasins completing the ensemble. 

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The nephew of famed San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez, Gilbert Atencio (Wah Peen) was born in 1930. He was one of the youngest San Ildefonso painters. A student at the Santa Fe Indian School, Atencio had already had a museum show by age twenty and had garnered many awards for his work before that.

This painting of three participants in a San Ildefonso Harvest Dance was painted by Atencio when he was 18 years of age, probably still in school at the time.  It is dated 1948.  The preciseness for which he was to become famous later in his art career is already evident in this early painting.  The faces of the three are beautifully detailed.

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Romando Vigil (1902-1978) Tse Ye Mu - Falling Cloud was one of the San Ildefonso self-taught artists in the early part of the 20th century. He was a leader within the San Ildefonso Watercolor Movement, a movement that caught fire during 1915 to 1917. It fostered an art form unmatched in the cultural history of the world. These men portrayed tribal culture and local wildlife, attaining a flat decorative character absent of backgrounds and foregrounds and free of traditional perspective, with an unerring color sense. Their success in these presentations was due to their understanding of the ceremonies they painted. They understood the meanings of the symbolism, because they had participated in these ceremonies since childhood. 

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