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Artist (c. 1860 - 1942, Hopi-Tewa)

Jar

Datec. 1905
DimensionsOverall: 5 1/2 × 13 1/2 in. (14 × 34.3 cm)
Object numberT0810
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextBy the early 1890s, Nampeyo had demonstrated such a high caliber of artistry in her pottery that she became famous among collectors, anthropologists, and tourists. Her work was so highly treasured that collectors traveled to Hano almost exclusively to purchase one of her jars or bowls. Nampeyo relied upon her own technical and artistic skills, but she also had inspiration from her ancestors. Among the ancient ruins of the village of Sikyatki, Nampeyo searched for the superbly painted centuries-old pottery shards that stimulated many of her artistic impulses. The designs on this seed jar and bowl show Nampeyo's complex use of geometric and curvilinear elements that relate back to pottery traditions of Sikyatki. The designs represent highly abstracted bird and feather imagery, a central theme of Nampeyo's art. Nampeyo's seed jars as a pottery form are considered her signature pieces. Her influence has been significant among Hopi artists, and many of her descendants carry on the tradition. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)

Sherry Brydon

Exhibition History"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.
ProvenanceRichard Spivey, Pebble Beach, California
Bibliography"Tenth Anniversary of the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 1995-2005" in Heritage magazine, 2005, vol 20. pg. 26-27.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collections.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 91.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 237.
On View
Not on view
Bowl
Nampeyo
c. 1900-1905
Jar
Santa Ana or Zia Pueblo
1780-1820
Jar
Santa Ana
c. 1830-1870
Jar
Martina Vigil
c. 1900
Jar
Trinidad Medina
c. 1885-1964
Jar
Zuni Pueblo
1870-1885
Jar
Tonita Roybal
1890-1915
Storyteller Figure
Helen Cordero
c. 1970
Bowl
Acoma/Laguna (Ako)
1700-1750
Bowl
Sikyatki
c. 1450-1500
Bowl
Sikyatki
c. 1450-1500
Jar
Acoma
1895-1910

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

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