Helen Naha (Feather Woman) and Joy Navasie (Frog Woman) were sisters-in-law.  Helen Naha married Joy Navasie's brother, Archie Naha. Helen was known for her stark black-on-white Hopi pottery early in her career and for exquisite polychrome pots in later times. Her hallmark is a feather.

This wonderful wide and low bowl is slipped in traditional white clay, over which is painted the decoration in strong black natural pigment.  The design is a mixture of shapes

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Joy Navasie (1919 - 2012) second Frog Woman - Yellow Flower is the first potter to inherit the Frog Woman name.  Her mother, Paqua Naha, was the first Frog Woman and, when she passed away in 1955, the Frog Woman name passed on to Joy.  Her mother was also her mentor and Joy began making pottery around 1935 and apparently began using a frog hallmark on her pottery around 1939 although it was different from that of her mom's.  Joy put web feet on her frogs and Paqua used short lines for toes.  Joy said that her mom was the first to produce white pottery at Hopi and had started doing so around 1951 or 1952. 

This small jar was made in the vessel shape of prehistoric pottery with a small base expanding upward and outward to a mid-body.

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Joy Navasie (1919 - 2012) second Frog Woman - Yellow Flower is among the most famous of Hopi-Tewa potters. She learned the skill from her famous mother, Paqua Naha, the first Frog Woman. Paqua developed white-ware pottery in the mid-1950s and Joy continued the tradition until she ceased potting around 2000 due to health reasons.  She passed away in 2012.

This almost miniature pottery jar was as well made and designed and painted as Joy's major pottery creations.  She devoted as much effort on this one as she would on a major jar.  The shape is exquisite and the painted design beautifully applied.  The jar dates to the late 1970s and is signed with Joy's frog logo - hallmark.

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Native Americans of all tribes have featured birds of various forms in their art and lives so it is not unlikely that The Fred Harvey Company would adopt a bird as its logo.  The Harvey Company bird was named a Thunderbird and its symbol was copyrighted in 1909.  It was used in jewelry by Harvey silversmiths extensively from 1909 until the 1930s, at which time its use was lessened as other symbols became more frequently used, such as arrows, whirling logs, and others.

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Silver and turquoise are hallmarks of Native American jewelry from the Southwest.  Extensive stamped designs of Indian-like symbols, especially the Whirling Log design, are telltale signs of pre-World War II jewelry, often called Fred Harvey jewelry.  There were many companies manufacturing silver jewelry in the early part of the 20^th century.  Among the most recognized are The Fred Harvey Company, Sun Bell of Albuquerque and Maisel's Indian Trading Post of Albuquerque.

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There were many companies manufacturing silver jewelry in the early part of the 20^th century.  Among the most recognized are The Fred Harvey Company, Sun Bell of Albuquerque and Maisel's Indian Trading Post of Albuquerque.  All these companies, and others, employed Native American craftsmen to make jewelry.  The company provided the materials and the Natives provided the talent.  Much of this pre-World War II jewelry is referred to as Fred Harvey jewelry, as a generic term.

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Simple silver strips such as this one were stamped with Indian-looking symbols believed to enhance their appeal to the tourist trade. It apparently was successful as the Fred Harvey Company and many other companies had its silversmiths produce such items.  This rectangular pin is stamped with a Nohokos, or Whirling Log symbol, at the center and flanked by crossed arrows.  There are double arrowhead symbols on the edges and parallel lines on the corners and at mid-point.

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This is one of the most impressive Zia dough bowls that I recall ever seeing and we have been handling dough bowls for over 30 years.  This one was beautifully constructed and expertly painted.  The design is the one seen on almost all Zia dough bowls from the late 1800s.  The design is typical for the period 1880 - 1890.

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This is our first acquisition from Kewa Pueblo potter Vidal Aguilar, a member of the famous Aguilar family of potters dating back to the late 1800s with the Aguilar sisters of fame.

This large olla is painted in four horizontal panels in black on cream designs.  The upper panel at the rim consists of half circles, generally recognized as clouds.  The next band consists of tulip designs in an upside down position.  The band of designs at mid body appear also to be tulip elements, face to face or perhaps black rain clouds back to back. The lower band of designs could be cloud elements in black in a back to back position.  The underside is polished red slip.  The jar is signed with the artist's name and hallmark.

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The potter, Carlotta Toya (1937 - ) of Jemez Pueblo, carved into the top center of this jar, a beautifully shaped heart, which is stone polished slip, and outlined it in deep red with a further outline of black.  The design on the mid-body is a traditional design seen on Zia dough bowls.

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This is a wonderful antique-style silver and turquoise brooch. The large domed oval turquoise stone, measuring 1-5/8" x 7/8", is an all-natural stone with a beautiful display of copper matrix. The stone is set in a silver bezel and surrounded by twisted silver rope. Silver wire swirls outline the edges of the silver base. A secure lock is attached to the pin mechanism.

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This bracelet has a foundation of two heavy strips of sterling silver anchored at the ends with a silver bar.  They spread out as the bracelet expands to the center and become the support for a medallion of elaborate silver wires, balls, and rope which surrounds a beautiful oval and domed turquoise cab which has a beautiful copper matrix in the center of the stone that resembles the shape of South America. Silver panels with repoussé embellishments flank the stone.

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This pair of pottery candlesticks is Tesuque Pueblo by origin and features black outline designs left unpainted.  It is not evident if the potter planned to fill in the design with color or if it was her intent to leave it as shown.  There is an old fabric sticker on one that states Tesuque Indian Village Near Santa Fe August 18 1932.  It is tempting to surmise that a tourist visited the home of a potter at Tesuque and saw and purchased this pair unaware that the painting was not complete.  The potter was probably quite pleased to sell the pair as shown.

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The Hopi have preserved their culture in a more traditional form than many other Native tribes in the United States.  The men have continued their reenactment of the roles of the Katsina in Hopi life and the women have continued to practice the art of basketry for its original intent. 

We, as outsiders, see Hopi Third Mesa plaques as decorative objects made to sell to tourists and collectors but that is only a secondary and recent purpose.  The plaques have served to retain Hopi culture and the women are responsible for this occurrence.  It is the females who laboriously gather the materials, process them through sun drying, preparing the dyes and dying the wicker and then, as a last step, weaving the plaque.  It is the plaque that symbolizes the woman's role in Hopi culture as it is the reenactment of the Katsina dances that reinforces the role of the men.

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This fringed white braided Hopi Pueblo sash is often called the "wedding sash" as it is one of the items presented to the bride at her wedding. It is also sometimes called the "rain sash" for the fringe symbolizes falling rain. The sash is woven by hand from handspun cotton. Fragments of similar sashes have been found in prehistoric pueblo sites, attesting to it being an ancient form of Southwestern Pueblo weaving.

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The Hopi have preserved their culture in a more traditional form than many other Native tribes in the United States.  The men have continued their reenactment of the roles of the Katsina in Hopi life and the women have continued to practice the art of basketry for its original intent. 

We, as outsiders, see Hopi Third Mesa plaques as decorative objects made to sell to tourists and collectors but that is only a secondary and recent purpose.  The plaques have served to retain Hopi culture and the women are responsible for this occurrence.  It is the females who laboriously gather the materials, process them through sun drying, preparing the dyes and dying the wicker and then, as a last step, weaving the plaque.  It is the plaque that symbolizes the woman's role in Hopi culture as it is the reenactment of the Katsina dances that reinforces the role of the men.

Read more about this Hopi basket here..

The Hopi have preserved their culture in a more traditional form than many other Native tribes in the United States.  The men have continued their reenactment of the roles of the Katsina in Hopi life and the women have continued to practice the art of basketry for its original intent. 

We, as outsiders, see Hopi Third Mesa plaques as decorative objects made to sell to tourists and collectors but that is only a secondary and recent purpose.  The plaques have served to retain Hopi culture and the women are responsible for this occurrence.  It is the females who laboriously gather the materials, process them through sun drying, preparing the dyes and dying the wicker and then, as a last step, weaving the plaque.  It is the plaque that symbolizes the woman's role in Hopi culture as it is the reenactment of the Katsina dances that reinforces the role of the men.

Read more about this basket here..

Lela Naranjo Gutierrez (1895-1966) and her son Luther Gutierrez (1911-1987) collaborated on pottery following the death of Lela's husband Van in 1956. Lela and Van were true innovators at Santa Clara Pueblo. They specialized in pictorial designs in a variety of hues and colors not normally associated with pueblo pottery. Luther continued in his father's style.

This vessel is a reintroduction of a prehistoric vessel of over a thousand years ago.  It resembles a pair of gourds put together to form a two-chamber canteen.  The umbilical connector between the two globular sections is hollow so liquid from one chamber can pass to the other chamber.

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Margaret Tafoya is a name all collectors of 20th century pueblo pottery know very well. She and her family were and are major potters of blackware. Margaret is associated with having made very large vessels but she also made smaller items as well. This black carved wedding vase is less than 12 inches in height and is one of hers produced in the mid-1970s or 1980s.

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Tourist items such as this Southwest Indian Pottery canoe have been popular since the early 1900s and will certainly continue to be so.  Most older items like this do not bear the name of the maker as they were made to sell as curios and the maker's name was not important.  We have had black-on-black canoes before but never had one that included a hand-carved wooden oar.

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