Old Native Indian pot

I was wondering if this bowl is old or it wasn't taken care of properly. Looks to have lots of age but I am no expert on this. Anyone know what region era etc. ?

Thank You

Billy D.

 

@Taupou

 

It looks like an old Hopi (Southwest Pueblo) bowl, late 19th - early 20th century. That kind of damage is usually caused by salts in the clay body. When they absorb moisture the crystals expand, causing the surface to spall.

 

Oh wow, I never knew that about salts

 

Yes, they can be a real problem with ceramics coming from desert environments in particular (or objects recovered from sea water). The only way to stabilize them is to keep the objects in a low relative humidity environment, or go through an intensive washing regime to flush the salts out.

 

It is Native American, could possibly be Hopi, but the clay body itself doesn't look quite right. But then again, it could be because of the the damage to the surface of the pot.

Is the inside of the bowl orange? I can only see a little bit of it in the first photo. It would make a difference in identification.

The size of the pot indicates this was made for the early tourist trade, which means late 1890s to about the 1930s.

The surface damage is mainly from moisture, not age, or salts. There are several types of clay found at Hopi. A gray clay, found closer to the surface, is used for this type of pottery, and a yellow clay that fires red, and found below the gray, is used for the Hopi redware.

The gray clay has no soluble salts or impurities that would cause damage. If it was exposed to water, however, or left outside in a damp climate, or something like that, the moisture absorbed would result in this type of damage.

The pottery isn't glazed, so can't be treated like pottery that is. It isn't water proof. Some Southwest Native American pottery is so low-fired that it will crumble apart over time, if it gets wet.

The clay body, and the way the pot is finished, looks more like Santa Ana than Hopi, but it's a little hard to tell from photos, without seeing the whole pot.

 

I do appreciate the opportunity to learn from you, @Taupou.

 

Thank You for all this information Taupou, very good to hear this. I am learning more now, Thanks. The item I am really concerned about is this fragile clay ? and aluminum foil Indian that has hallmark Tee Pees a signature and at lower side, reads BLACKFOOT .

 

Thanks for the new photos. I'm away from home right now. Hard to type out much on my phone, so it with probably be at least 8 hours or so before I can give a more complete answer.

 

Okay thanks

 

The reason I asked if it was orange inside, is because a Hopi pot like this would have been made with the gray Hopi clay (which fires ivory/yellow with orange fireclouds) and would not be orange inside.

Plus a Hopi pot that was made from the yellow Hopi clay would fire orange/red all the way through.

The photo showing the inside looks a little strange, in that it appears to have a greenish color along with the orange. Admittedly that could be my eyes, or the screen resolution. But it does indicate it was somehow made with clay from somewhere else other than Hopi.

So this is a puzzle, that may need a hands on examination by someone familiar with Southwest pottery, to positively identify. But here is another possibility. Daisy Hooee was a Hopi potter (Nampeyo's granddaughter) who married a Zuni man, and moved to Zuni. She even taught pottery at Zuni High School. It's not unusual for a potter to move to another pueblo, but continue to make pots, with clay from one pueblo, and design styles influenced by another. It makes identification of unsigned pots very difficult. That might be the case here. Plus the fact that the damaged surface complicates matters more. (And yes, I'd say it's in a rather fragile condition, and likely to get worse, unless carefully handled.)

Afraid that's all I have. (Don't know anything about the Indian figure, unfortunately.)

 

Okay Great, Thanks Taupou for all that information, it helps a lot. I appreciate all your help.