Featured Southwest US Olla

Agree but I drool all over her Maria cases. It’s really her historic pieces I love most!

 

In dating Southwest Native American pottery, 1600-1880 is the Historic period; 1880-1950 is the Modern period; 1950 to present is called Contemporary.

Maria was born in 1887, retired from making pottery in 1970, so her pottery spanned the Modern and Contemporary period.

The dates of the different periods were set up in the 1930s, to refer to the time period when the pottery was made. Maybe it's time for some new names, since we tend to not think of the late 1800s/early 1900s as being "Modern" today. But that's the official terminology still in use.

 

Agree-was just using my own terminology!

 

I appreciate the great comments and suggestions. Thanks! I will look into Buxton and the Adobe Gallery, and the book recommendation sounds perfect. I've been able to find some information online that explains the meaning of the various design elements. It's quite interesting. I like that komokwa pointed out the style of the antlers. I hadn't noticed that they are painted in a unique way compared to many of the other examples. A very useful observation.