Today, we start with a trio of beautiful Hopi jars. The first is attributed to Nampeyo (1862-1942), Hopi-Tewa.
Although this jar was purchased by Maie and Dwight Heard as the work of Nampeyo, family members have suggested that it may have been made by Daisy Hooee or Rachel Nampeyo.

The second Hopi Jar dates to 1905-1910.
Potter Mark Tahbo commented on the unusual design below the rim of this jar. Instead of featuring abstract bird feathers or beaks, the entire bird is depicted.

The third jar is by Steve Lucas (b. 1955), Hopi-Tewa.
Steve Lucas' aunt, Dextra Quotskuyva, taught him how to make these large-diameter, low-shoulder jars. The designs on this jar are derived from pottery by Lucas' great-great-grandmother, Nampeyo.

Hopi Pottery

"Sometimes when I work on a pot and I've really worked hard on it and I want to go to the next step, my mom comes and she inspects it and tells me, 'No it's not ready for the next step. You take it back and do it over again.' She wouldn't say that to anybody else except me." Kenar Keha Chaelry, Hopi.

From the 14th through the 16th centuries, black-on-yellow pottery of the Hopi region was one of the most widely traded ceramics of its time. Today, individual Hopi potters are widely appreciated by collectors of Native art. For much of the intervening period, Hopi pottery was utilitarian and produced on all three Hopi mesas. By the 1900s, utilitarian Hopi pottery production had declined as metal containers became more widely available. Pottery revived as an art form when potters at First Mesa, led by Nampeyo, developed styles based on pottery fragments found at the ancestral site of Sikyatki. One of the first Native artists to be known by name, Nampeyo was the first of a family dynasty of potters. For years, Nampeyo's descendants and other families made First Mesa a pottery-making center. Today, as the collector market has developed, men are pursuing what was once a woman's art. First Mesa is no longer the exclusive locus of production, and potters are pursuing innovation in both form and surface treatment.

Hopi Weaving

Hopi textiles are worn today, as they were in the past, in the full range of Hopi ceremonies. Traditionally, weaving is done by Hopi men and comes from a complex ancestral tradition of woven cotton. With the introduction of Spanish sheep, weavers added wool to their tool kit. Because weaving is done to produce ceremonial garments, it continued even with the introduction of machine-made cloth and the adoption of Western-style clothing.

In the early 1900s, when children were removed from their homes and taken to boarding schools, their traditional clothing was destroyed and replaced with uniforms. For a time in the late 1800s, Hopi weaving was an important trade item to the New Mexico pueblos, where the cloth would be embroidered in the manner appropriate to the purchaser's pueblo. Today, younger men continue the weaving tradition.

The pottery continued to evolve providing new shapes and function. In addition to bowls, we see mugs, water jugs, and even an ornamental jug in the shape of a pig.

Hopi Jewelry includes beautiful pendants made from stone and silver. The heart at the bottom of the cross pendant (left-most) is found on the bottom of many crosses of Spanish and Mexican origin and is often referred to as the Sacred Heart when viewed within the beliefs of the Catholic Church. For Pueblo people, the heart can represent the heart of the dragonfly.

In 1540 when the Spanish entered pueblo homelands, 40,000 to 50,000 people lived in 80 to 100 communities. By 1696, only 14,000 Native people remained in 2 communities. The intervening years were brutal. European diseases killed many. In 1598, Spain granted Juan de Oñate Pueblo homelands to colonize and convert the Pueblo people to the Catholic Church. He imposed a feudal economic system that demanded tributes of supplies and labor. Practicing the Pueblo religion was considered witchcraft and practitioners were punished by whipping and burning at the stake.

On August 10, 1680, the Pueblo people drove the Spanish out of their homelands. They united under the leadership of a San Juan man named Popé in what has been called the first American Revolution. In the initial revolt, 400 Spanish and 21 of 33 priests in New Mexico were killed. In 1692, Diego de Vargas succeeded in returning the Spanish to New Mexico, but the revolt ended Spanish demands for tribute.

The designs on Hopi continued to evolve and became increasingly complex. These two pieces show that evolution.

Lorencita A. Bird (1917-1995), San Juan. Manta, 1985
Lorencita Bird was a skilled textile artist who researched and generously taught the traditions of Pueblo weaving and embroidery to many students. The manta features a butterfly — a symbol of renewal and spring.

Lonnie Vigil (b. 1949), Nambe. Storage jar, 2010
"The elasticity of the clay adds to its versatility. It's just a beautiful, natural clay that speaks for itself. The potter brings out the shape of the work, but nature itself works with you to produce a beautiful, unique piece of pottery." Marie Reyna

#4 Cavan Gonzales (b. 1970), San Ildefonso. Jar, 1994
Cavan Gonzales has revived the polychrome style of his great-great-grandparents while developing his own style. About this jar, he said, "This jar is made of clay material from my pueblo. The tan is from a very old source of clay. The designs are squash blossoms and leaf designs that shoot upward. On the belly, I have a belt design going around the entire piece."

#5 Maria Martinez (1887-1980) and Popovi Da (1921 - 1971), San Ildefonso. Jar, 1960s

Maria Martinez made pottery first with her husband, then with her son, Popovi Da.

6 Maria Martinez (1887-1980) and Julian Martinez (1885-1943), San Ildefonso. Jar, c. 1935

7 Tony Da (1940-2008), San Ildefonso. Jar, c. 1980 Gift from the estate of Herman and Claire Blum

(Sorry, I failed to capture the description of the pottery on the bottom row.)

I found this example of Hopi pottery to be quite interesting — four desert tortoises with designs on their shells surrounded by a serpent with a tongue resembling lightning.