Interesting small double-mouthed vase

Looks Native America as I know the double-mouth vase is one of their styles as is the Pheonix. Any thoughts on this?

It's 5 & 3/4" high by 4 inches wide.

My camera skills get bad at times so I'm learning what makes them more consistent.
That's why there are two pictures of almost identical sides. The auto correction of dark images gives it off colors that do not resemble the real palette.

I realize a lot of stuff isn't that valuable but also sometimes interested in the history of things regardless of their values.

The bottom has no signatures but I will have to retake it.

There is a clear mold line.

 

A mold line indicates it was mass produced, and not Native American. A low quality souvenir knock off of a "wedding vase", for tourists I suppose.

 

Thanks. It's helpful to know that's what its called (the wedding vase part, lol).

 

It is a factory-made souvenir made in Japan.

Several different versions of this type of pottery were popular souvenir items imported from Japan in the 1950s/1960s. They were sold all over the country, especially on and near Indian reservations. There were several companies that wholesaled them. They came with foil labels, a circular red one saying "Lugenes, Japan," a white one with blue lettering saying NAPCO, or a green oval one saying "Fairway, Made in Japan." The labels are usually missing.

As for it being a "wedding vase," here's the truth behind that. It's a form thoroughly documented in references, such as "The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico" by Jonathan Batkin.

It was actually "invented" by JS (Jesus Sito) Candelario, an early Santa Fe curio dealer. He took the idea to Santa Clara potters and had them make the design to sell in his shop. He added the made up story and the name "wedding vase" to help sales. It obviously worked.

The first Santa Clara "wedding vases" were made in 1900, but the idea quickly spread to other tribes and it became an iconic Indian pottery souvenir. Both Japan, and later China, produced them for the U.S. market.

Some Indian potters believed the story enough to repeat Candelario's story as the truth, and now it's repeated endlessly on line. But there are no documented “wedding vases” dating earlier than those commissioned by Candelario. The form itself is found in some early canteens, but they were not used as “wedding vases.”

There are 573 federally recognized Indian tribes in the U.S., each with its own culture and customs. But none have any evidence of a traditional ceremony involving the "wedding vase." However, there are stories that Indian couples have accepted the story enough to use "wedding vases" as part of their weddings today. I haven't witnessed that myself, so have no idea if it is true, or just a continuation of the myth.

 

Can I ask, to your knowledge, were those pottery canteens actually meant to carry water? Some Pueblo wares are not safe to put water in, though some are. I know Acoma and Hopi both made canteens, and other tribes did too. Were those for the tourist market as well? Or were they actually utilitarian wares? Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry I'm so late in answering...my computer modem went out, and I was without internet service for over a week, and somehow I missed this. Trying to use just my phone for the internet, when I'm not used to it, is difficult!

In answer to your question, most southwest tribes used pottery canteens traditionally, until "modern" substitutes became available. They were generally larger than the ones produced for the tourist trade, which in the southwest began around the late 1800s.

Most all of the "canteens" found today on the market, were actually made for sale to tourists, and are smaller (easier to pack back home) and decorated (more attractive to the buyer.)

Their ability to actually be used as the traditional ones were, is therefore lost. Water will eventually destroy the design pattern. Since the purpose of canteens was actually to allow slow evaporation to occur, keeping the contents cooler, most traditionally used canteens were not decorated.

The pottery canteens used by the various tribes were safe to use, and very efficient, but heavy (especially when filled), compared to the tin and other metal and enamel ones when they became available, so potters switched to making smaller ones for the tourist/collector market.

 

Thank you for the answer! Always a wealth of information.

Slow evaporation to keep the water cooler is ingenious!