Navajo painter Harrison Begay (1914-2012) was one of the most well-known students of the Santa Fe Indian School, where he was educated from 1934 to 1940.  He received a great deal of international acclaim during his long career, and was one of the first Native American artists to support himself financially with his artwork.  Begay enjoyed a long career as a prolific creator of "flat-style" watercolor paintings, celebrating beauty and serenity with a warm and inviting color palette.

With the intent to share Navajo and Pueblo paintings with a wider audience, Begay and printer Charles Barrows started a silkscreen business called Tewa Enterprises.  Tewa reproduced Begay's work and that of many of his contemporaries, including Gerald Nailor and J.D. Roybal.  Begay was uniquely qualified to enter the printing business, and was able to sell high-quality prints at reasonable prices.  Tewa's prints are still readily available from a variety of sources, and are desirable because of their connection to the artist himself.

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"The Lizard Kachina is one of the Fighting Kachinas, a group that furnishes individuals to chastise the clowns for their un-Hopi behavior. He is presumed to represent a particular species of Lizard, the Crotophytus. This particular lizard is a brilliant turquoise color and very fast in movement."  Wright 1973

Based on carving style and paint, this appears to be from the 1940s. It is simple in detail and quite plain in appearance which is a true representation of this Katsina when it appears in the Mixed Katsina Dance or Powamu.  A spread of feathers that is supposed to be on the back of the head has been removed, as have the feathers on top of the head.  This is probably the truest representation of this Katsina as it should appear.

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The Hopi Na-ngasohu Katsina seems to have several English translations-Planet, Meteor, and Chasing Star-and each publication shows the same Katsina regardless of the name under which it is described.  Physically it is a handsome Katsina with an enormous fan of eagle feathers behind the head and back.  It has a simple four pointed star for a face with no visible eyes or mouth.

This Katsina doll was sold to the current owner as Na-ngasohu but it does not resemble in any manner the published version of that Katsina.  It was listed as a circa 1890s carving. Perhaps there is an older version that differs from today's version of this Katsina but I have not found a picture of one yet.  Perhaps it is a different Katsina which I have not yet discovered in a publication.

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The Roast Corn Throwing Boy Katsina is another of the many plant Katsinas and as such is a prayer for the growth, propagation and successful harvesting of corn.  His costume is made of bobcat skin and is reminiscent of those from the Eastern/Tewa pueblos.  Like other corn Katsinam, he wears horizontally crossed feathers on the top of his head pointing in four directions.  While he may appear with the mixed Katsinas or the runners, on occasion a group of these Katsinas will appear in the evening to dance and throw baked corn to the spectators.  His name Yehoho comes from the sound which he makes.

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Seferina Ortiz was one of the most respected potters at Cochiti. She specialized in making figurines-storytellers, nacimientos, and animal and human figures.  A collection of 32 items of pottery by Seferina is in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University.  She is considered one of the matriarchs of the potter population of Cochiti Pueblo.  Not only did she leave a legacy of her pottery, she left a legacy in her children-Joyce, Janice, Inez, Virgil, Leon and Angie, some of whom are considered top potters today. 

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The Kwivi katsina is a Hopi Katsina that honors and depicts the Hopi's Navajo neighbors. It is not borrowed from the Navajo but is Pueblo in every sense because the Katsina are unique to the Pueblo Indians. He serves the same functions and carries the same responsibilities as any other Katsina. His name means showy and is derived from the flashy dress and decorations. He is listed as circa 1920-30.

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In the 17th Century, what is now known as New Mexico was considered to be the northern frontier of Mexico. Separated by extreme time and distance, this land was considered to be remote even by 17th Century standards. The church in Mexico basically ignored the northern frontier and as a result the local people developed their own way of celebrating the birth and death of Christ.  A group that is referred to today as the Penitentes took over the task of caring for the spiritual needs of the villages of Nuevo Mexico.

One important aspect of the many duties of the Penitentes was to celebrate the Passion of Christ during Holy Week.  Death carts, with the figure of La Muerte, or Doña Sebastiana, appeared in processions during Holy Week. A member of the Penitente brotherhood would drag the heavy cart from the Morada, or meeting place, to the Calvario, or symbolic Calvary, atop a nearby hill. The carts represented the ever-looming specter of Death and reminded people of the miracle of Christ's triumph over death. It was also a reminder to the faithful that death is ever-present, and of the importance of leading a virtuous life in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

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There is very little published information on Hopi puppets and the artists who create them.  It has been stated that Jimmy Koots and Henry Seeni are the carvers who made them in the mid-20th century.  Whether they were made for Hopi ceremonial or entertainment use or made solely for sale to tourists is not documented. 

This one represents a Tewa Clown or Koshare.  Although referred to as Katsina dolls, Koshare are technically not Katsinas.  They are probably one of the best-known figures and the most frequently carved clowns at Hopi. Ironically, he is not of Hopi origin, but is of Tewa origin, and arrived with the Tewa immigrants from the New Mexico Rio Grande pueblos in the early 18th century.

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There are collectors of Southwest Indian items who concentrate on items of the smallest scale.  Some do so because they set up displays of miniature items in crate-like boxes.  Others collect miniatures for display in dollhouses, where every item has to be in proper scale.

Whether that is the reason Jimmy Koots made such a small Owl Katsina doll is not known, but presented here is the smallest Koots katsina doll of which I am aware.  It is barely 2 inches tall.

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The Great Horned Owl Wuhti (female) has only been published in Fewkes' article on Hopi Katsinas and has appeared nowhere else. Present-day Hopi are not aware of the female version, so perhaps it has not been seen in over a hundred years.

This version of the Mongwa Wuhti is beautifully carved and painted. She wears a traditional pueblo manta and has a white wedding shawl draped over her shoulders.  She appears to be carved from a single piece of cottonwood root.

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Starting as early as 1840, potters at Zuni Pueblo have been producing wares that have been classified as Zuni Polychrome.  Now, 175 years later, they are still being made.  During that time span, other styles have come and gone.  Perhaps some potters or families tired of doing the same style and began experimenting with something new.

One of these short-lived experiments was pottery slipped in red and decorated in white.  It apparently began around 1890 and ended in the 1920s, a short period of around 30 years.  The new style could have been influenced by sherds from prehistoric St. Johns Polychrome from near the current Zuni Pueblo boundaries, or from prehistoric sherds being excavated at Hawikuh and Halona villages.  Anthropologists could have shown sherds to potters or potters could have unearthed sherds themselves for use as temper.  It is easy to see that these White-on-red wares of the late 1800s had a precedent at or near Zuni and were not a completely new innovation dreamed up by potters of the day.

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Ada Suina resumed making pottery figurines a few years ago after several years of not doing so following the death of her husband.  She relied so much on his help in digging the clay and working it to a point where she could form the figurines. Now, at age 86, she has to do everything by herself, therefore it is taking significantly more time to complete a piece. She is not very actively making pottery at this time. She was not displaying pottery at the Santa Fe Indian Market in 2015. 

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The Navajo "mother-in-law" bell is worn by the mother-in-law to warn her son-in-law of her impending arrival. The Navajo believe that the two must not lay eyes on each other. These charming "mother-in-law" bell earrings have a delightful ring to them. They are carefully fashioned to produce a delicate chime as the wearer moves.

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Kokopelli, the hump-backed Flute Player, has been notoriously denigrated in the Southwest with tourist-related items such as coasters, napkins, magnets, and other kinds of miscellaneous bric-a-brac. Some of the interest in him is because he is so blatantly phallic in appearance. In reality, however, he is a very important personage to the pueblo people. He appeared in Mimbres and Hohokam pottery decorations of a thousand years ago. He also is documented in petroglyph drawings and pictographs representations. 

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This exquisite small bowl is attributed to Nampeyo of Hano based on construction techniques, layout of design, and execution of design.  One of the first items of consideration is the extra coil of clay Nampeyo placed at the rim of bowls which is quite obvious on this small bowl.  The bottom is rounded, not flattened, and shows evidence of long polishing strokes as was typical of Nampeyo.  The layout of the design is very typical of her style.  

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After the influenza epidemic that swept the area in the early 20th century, there were less than 200 people living at Zia Pueblo. Since the late 1800s, Zia women had been exchanging pottery with the nearby traders for food and other goods or money.  This ability of Zia women to make fine pots for trade made it possible for the pueblo to survive the hard times.

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Garnet Pavatea's Hopi name translates in English to Flower Girl.  She was a Hopi-Tewa from the Tewa Village on First Mesa.  Her dad, Dewakuku, was Hopi and her mother was Tewa.  Following tradition, Garnet was of her mother's clan.

Hopi artisans owe much to Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton, co-founder with her husband of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.  She was instrumental in creating the Hopi Craftsman Exhibition in the early 1930s with the intent of fostering production of quality work.  She was concerned that traders were content to accept and sell mediocre work from Hopi craftsmen and were not interested in educating the public on quality crafts.  She organized the craft exhibit for the July 4th weekend every year and it has served her intent to greatly increase interest in quality Hopi crafts.

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Rainy Naha is a daughter of Helen Naha (1st Feather Woman) and the granddaughter of Paqua Naha (1st Frog Woman).  Her siblings are Burel, Sylvia, and Rechenda. She signs her pottery with the traditional feather hallmark used by her mom and then adds the initial R. 

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Most collectors of Pueblo pottery are aware of just how talented Russell Sanchez is as an artist.  He has been compared to other potters of earlier periods but his work is not like any others.  He combines designs and vessel shapes of traditional Tewa Pueblos and enhances those shapes with slips and designs not traditionally used.  Russell was one of the early innovators to use green slip as a decorative theme.  This jar with green slip is dated 1987, a time when very few potters were experimenting with clays of different colors.  Both the lid and jar are signed and dated. 

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Acoma Pueblo potters have claimed the inherited right to use designs of the earlier Puebloan groups that lived in the early Southwest. The designs of particular striking beauty are those, appropriated by 20th-century Acoma potters, referred to as Tularosa Black-on-white. The Tularosa vessels date from A.D.1100 to 1250. Acoma potters have been particularly involved with the use of these designs since the late 19th century.

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