Primarily a women's art, American Indian pottery reflects a heritage of powerful social, religious, and aesthetic values. Even now, modern American Indian women use the clay, paint, and fire of pottery making to express themselves, creating designs that range from dutifully traditional to strikingly original. This book - written in conjunction with one of the most important exhibitions of American Indian pottery ever mounted - provides an in-depth look at a unique North American art form.
In 1974 Seven Families in Pueblo Pottery was published to accompany an exhibit at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology: twenty years later there are some 80,000 copies in print. Like Seven Families, this updated and greatly enlarged version by Rick Dillingham, who curated the original exhibition, includes portraits of the potters, color photographs of their work, and a statement by each potter about the work of his or her family. In addition to the original seven--the Chino and Lewis families (Acoma Pueblo), the Nampeyos (Hopi), the Guteirrez and Tafoya families (Santa Clara), and the Gonzales and Martinez families (San Ildefonso)--the author had added the Chapellas and the Navasies (Hopi-Tewa), the Chavarrias (Santa Clara), the Herrera family (Choti), the Medina family (Zia), and the Tenorio-Pacheco and the Melchor families (Santo Domingo). Because the craft of pottery is handed down from generation to generation among the Pueblo Indians, this extended look at multiple generations provides a fascinating and personal glimpse into how the craft has developed. Also evident are the differences of opinion among the artists about the future of Pueblo pottery and the importance of following tradition. A new generation of potters has come of age since the publication of Seven Families. The addition of their talents, along with an ever-growing interest in Native American pottery, make this book a welcome addition to the literature on the Southwest.
Pottery has a long history in India. Over the centuries it has been used for domestic ware, votive pieces and for architecture. Each area of the country is known for its different styles, decorations and ways of making. In this book, the author, not only looks at Indian pottery but also at the communities who make it, their organization, history and philosophy.
Traces the craft of pottery making among the Catawba Indians of North Carolina from the late 18th century to the present When Europeans encountered them, the Catawba Indians were living along the river and throughout the valley that carries their name near the present North Carolina-South Carolina border. Archaeologists later collected and identified categories of pottery types belonging to the historic Catawba and extrapolated an association with their protohistoric and prehistoric predecessors. In this volume, Thomas Blumer traces the construction techniques of those documented ceramics to the lineage of their probable present-day master potters or, in other words, he traces the Catawba pottery traditions. By mining data from archives and the oral traditions of contemporary potters, Blumer reconstructs sales circuits regularly traveled by Catawba peddlers and thereby illuminates unresolved questions regarding trade routes in the protohistoric period. In addition, the author details particular techniques of the representative potters—factors such as clay selection, tool use, decoration, and firing techniques—which influence their styles.
Working without the use of the potter's wheel, Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest create beautiful ceramic ware for both utilitarian and ceremonial use. A classic, this book is the first comprehensive account of historic Pueblo pottery, and results from years of study. With nearly 200 examples, the authors appraise the aesthetic value of Pueblo pottery as rivaling that of any ware made by Neolithic societies.
The nation's premier private collection of Rookwood art pottery featuring American Indian portraiture is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum from October 2007 to January 2008. Rookwood and the American Indian: Masterpieces of American Art Pottery from the James J. Gardner Collection is a remarkable exhibition catalogue that will be of interest well beyond the exhibition because of its unique subject matter. Fifty-two pieces produced by the Rookwood Pottery Company are showcased, many accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the American Indians portrayed by the ceramic artist. In addition, the catalogue includes a brief biography of each artist as well as curators' comments about the Rookwood pottery and the Indian apparel seen in the portraits. The catalogue also presents two essays. The first, "Enduring Encounters: Cincinnatians and American Indians to 1900," by ethnologist and co-curator Susan Labry Meyn, describes American Indian activities in Cincinnati from the time of the first settlers to 1900 and relates these events to national policy, such as the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Rookwood and the American Indian, by art historian Anita J. Ellis, concentrates on Rookwood's fascination with the American Indian and the economic implications of producing that line. Rookwood and the American Indian blends anthropology with art history to reveal the relationships between the white settlers and the Native Americans in general, between Cincinnati and the American Indian in particular, and ultimately between Rookwood artists and their Indian friends.
Native American pottery of the U.S. southwest has long been considered collectible and today can fetch many thousands of dollars per piece. Authors, collectors, and dealers Carol and Allen Hayes provide readers with a concise overview of the pottery of the southwest, from its origins in the Bastketmaker period (around 400 AD) to the Spanish entrada (1540 AD-1879 AD) to today's new masters. Readers will find dozens of color images depicting pottery from the Zuni, Hopi, Anasazi, and many other peoples. Maps help readers identify where these master potters and their peoples lived (i.e. the Pueblo a tribal group or area). Pottery of the Southwest will serve as a useful introduction as well as a lovely guide for enthusiasts.
"In Search of Nampeyo" Published by Lithexcel and Spirit Bird Press, Steve Elmore: The early years, 1875 -1892, an art history of the Thomas Keam collection of Hopi pottery.
