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.
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.
When this book first appeared in 1996, it was “Pottery 101,” a basic introduction to the subject. It served as an art book, a history book, and a reference book, but also fun to read, beautiful to look at, and filled with good humor and good sense. After twenty years of faithful service, it’s been expanded and brought up-to-date with photographs of more than 1,600 pots from more than 1,600 years. It shows every pottery-producing group in the Southwest, complete with maps that show where each group lives. Now updated, rewritten, and re-photographed, it's a comprehensive study as well as a basic introduction to the art.
Members of a Tewa Indian family living in Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico follow the ages-old traditions of their people as they create various objects of clay.
"This catalog interprets a large and important public collection of historic New Mexioco Pueblo pottery through the study of slipped or slipped and painted wares from Pueblos still occupied"--Preface, page 9.
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.
This book combines extensive research with interviews granted by three Santa Clara potters. During the interviews, the author recorded and photographed each step -- from clay pit to market -- in the making of contemporary Santa Clara pottery. Collecting and preparing the clay, making slips and paints, modelling various kinds of vessels, sanding, smoothing, slipping, polishing, decorating, firing -- all are described and illustrated so thoroughly that the reader can experiment with the Santa Clara techniques himself if he wishes.