Featured Little seed pot with worn paint, Who made it?

Discussion in 'Tribal Art' started by 916Bulldogs123, Oct 8, 2023.

  1. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

    Hi all, i found this little 4 1/2" pot at a yard sale. it was only a dollar so what the heck.
    A lot of the designs are very worn and looks like it might have been too close to a fire and one side is very brown.
    Any help with the maker and artist would be appreciated.
    Mikey
    100_0523.JPG 100_0512.JPG 100_0515.JPG 100_0516.JPG 100_0518.JPG
     
  2. stracci

    stracci Well-Known Member

    I'm not getting a NA vibe from it, it seems too shiny, and the shape is odd.
    Mexico, maybe?
    But I could be wrong... maybe Hopi, spider clan?
    Clearly I don't know anything!
    It's cool, though. I woulda grabbed it, too.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2023
  3. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

    Thanks @stracci
    That was my first thought so I'll search down that alley and see what I can find.
    Mikey
     
    stracci likes this.
  4. stracci

    stracci Well-Known Member

    I looked at some Hopi pottery just now and there is a Spider clan......
     
  5. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

    I think @stracci knows a lot...

    The designs and colors seem about right for Hopi, but the shape is unusual and is more common in Mexican Mata Ortiz. Hopi pottery generally has a signature painted on, and not incised, which is more common in Mata Ortiz.

    Some fading, or, more accurately, places where the pigments have literally rubbed off, is not uncommon. I have pots like that.

    And the browner area, called a fire cloud, is an indication it was fired in a traditional outdoor kiln.
     
  6. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

  7. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

    Update @stracci and @Potteryplease
    It is Hopi and the artist/potter has been identified as
    Kevin Navasie. I've only found one searching, but the sig matches
    Mikey
     
  8. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

  9. stracci

    stracci Well-Known Member

  10. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    One clue to distinguish traditional Hopi/Pueblo from Mata Ortiz may be a difference in the firing technique. Traditional Pueblo potters fire in a simple open fire, where the fuel can sometimes contact the pots, creating fire clouds. Mata Ortiz potters "used to fire a single pot inside a sagger in a garbage can using wood as the fuel", but now may use electric kilns. Both techniques protect the pots from direct contact with the fuel.
    https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/pott...aking-illustrated-article/Finding-Mata-Ortiz#
     
  11. Taupou

    Taupou Well-Known Member

    Also, Mata Ortiz pottery usually has a rounded bottom, because that is the shape of the molds they traditionally use to start the pots (the rest of the pot is traditionally hand coiled). Hopi pottery has a flat bottom.
     
  12. Taupou

    Taupou Well-Known Member

    Actually the signature doesn't really match. If you look carefully on the pot with the painted signature, there appears to be 3 "A's" not 2 in the last name, and the spider image isn't included.

    Which brings up another issue, which I should have mentioned in my earlier post. Hopi potters don't incise their names on their pottery. Especially after the pot is fired, as appears was done in this case. If incised before the pot was fired (which is how incised signatures are traditionally made) it would have a slightly darker look, unlike the stark white of the fired clay.

    The pot itself is carefully made and decorated, but the traditional firing turned it into what a traditional Hopi potter would consider a "second" and unsalable.

    Maybe someone thought it worthy, at least, of a lesser well-known potter's "signature."

    All I can say is that it is definitely Hopi, traditionally fired, and made by a potter who had experience and craftsmanship. But the questions surrounding it do raise some issues.
     
  13. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

    That's probably why I only got $20.00
    for it.Sold last week
    Mikey
     
    Any Jewelry likes this.
  14. Taupou

    Taupou Well-Known Member

    Oh, no! A lot of time and energy went into creating it. To say nothing of the time spent since then. Disappointing for the potter, you, and all of us!
     
    Any Jewelry and 916Bulldogs123 like this.
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