Pottery Buyers Guide: Mud Slingers

Throughout this section, featuring some of the best Native American pottery on the market, you’ll find a little bit everything. This ranges from the traditional, more historic examples that enliven your spirit and recall days and legends past, to the more vibrant contemporary visions that have us looking to the future. Whether traditional or contemporary, or created by an emerging or seasoned artist, each pottery piece carries the weight of an artist’s connection to ancestry and to earth. Continue reading to learn more about stunning pottery that is now available for purchase from top artists and leading galleries all around the country. These masterpieces are waiting for new homes.

Blue Rain Gallery

Together, Lisa Holt and Harlan Reano create pottery using all-natural materials and fire their pieces outdoors. They began their joint venture by creating figurines inspired by the old Cochiti tradition of human and animal forms. More recently, the duo has expanded their repertoire to include pots, jars and figures which are still traditional but embrace a bolder, more contemporary aesthetic. Here, we see a pot made of native clay and acrylic paint, measuring 91/2 inches high. Together they have won many awards: Best of Pottery at SWAIA’s Santa Fe Indian Market in 2012, and Best of Pottery at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in 2010 and 2011.

544 S. Guadalupe Street » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 954-9902
932 Main Avenue, Unit B » Durango, CO 81301 » (970) 232-2033 www.blueraingallery.com

King Galleries

Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo) has been exclusively represented at King Galleries for nearly 10 years. “Each piece I make is precious and jewel-like,” she says. “I love detail. When I’m carving a piece, the smaller the carved line the more fragile. Each layer is a fragile, delicate balance of one design on top of another.”

770 E. Main Street, #20 » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 » (480) 481-0187

130 Lincoln Avenue, #D » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (480) 440-3912

kgs@kinggalleries.com » www.kinggalleries.com

Territorial Indian Arts

Presenting historical and vintage Native American pottery from fine collections and estates, is the Arizona-based Territorial Indian Arts. Shown here are three jars by Margaret Tafoya, the matriarch of Santa Clara Pueblo potters. These pieces will be at Brian Lebel’s Old West Show in Santa Fe from June 21 to 23.

7100 East Main Street #3 » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 » (480) 945- 5432

territorialindianarts@gmail.com » www.territorialindianarts.com

Jack’s Antique

Pictured here is a hand-coiled pot by Hopi-Tewa artist Helen Naha (Feather Woman). The piece is polished and covered with white clay slip then painted with natural black and red pigment. Her work shows she was inspired by pottery designs on fragments found at the Awatovi ruins in Hopi. Naha also won numerous awards and is the matriarch of renowned potters Sylvia, Rainy and Burel Naha.

4650 N. US Hwy 89, Suite G014, Flagstaff Mall » Flagstaff, AZ 86004 » (928) 526-0696 » jack@jacksantique.com » www.jacksantique.com

Adobe Gallery

Adobe Gallery owner Alexander Anthony explains that this Kiua Polychrome - Cochiti Pueblo historic storage jar (ca. 1820) has a beautiful symmetrical globular body. The design concept is simple—a series of six floral medallions encircle the mid-body of the jar as the sole designs on the body. The piece is 23 inches tall.

221 Canyon Road » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 955-0550

info@adobegallery.com » www.adobegallery.com

Sandbar Trading

Multiple-award winning pottery artist Erik Fender “Than Tsidih (Sun Bird)” comes from a family of well-known San Ildefonso Pueblo potters. Sandbar Trading has Fender’s magnificent polychrome serving bowl with abstract swirling birds around a historic checkerboard corn field design. The exterior is a perfect complement with a small red and white checkerboard.

839 Paseo de Peralta » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (316) 655-7477 » rick@sandbartrading.com » www.sandbartrading.com

Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery

Sandra Victorino, an award-winning Acoma potter, says her artistry comes from “deep within my heart and the tradition of my community.” For this tall-necked jar with a snow and morning-star design, Victorino’s inspiration was her late aunt and teacher, Dorothy Torivio, who pioneered the snow design (red dots). The jar measures 91/4 inches tall.

100 West San Francisco Street » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 986-1234 » www.andreafisherpottery.com

Heard Museum Shop

This traditionally fired Hopi pot, measuring 41/2 by 63/4 inches, is by the award-winning artist Garrett Maho. He was born in 1976, is a member of the Rabbitt/Tobacco Clan and has been making pottery since 1996. He was taught by his grandmother Marilyn Mahle and his aunt Gloria Mahle.

2301 N. Central Avenue » Phoenix AZ, 85004 » (602) 252-8344 » www.heardmuseumshop.com

Ancient Nations Indigenous Arts

Ancient Nations features this gorgeous pot titled Water Blossom by Lisa Holt (Cochiti) and Harlan Reano (Kewa). “This talented couple continues to turn heads and win awards with their innovative designs rooted in family tradition. This piece measures approximately 81/2 by 10 inches and is available by calling directly.

1-(800) 854-1359 » www.ancientnations.com

C & D Gifts Native American Art

This Antelope Dancer figure is from noted Cochiti potter Mary Janice Ortiz. “This is an incredible piece and would make a great centerpiece for any collection,” notes the gallery. Ortiz uses all-natural pigments: red rock clay for red, white slip which can turn beige or grey depending on the firing conditions, and wild spinach for black. She fires all of her pottery outdoors. Ortiz is the sister of potter Virgil Ortiz, Joyce Ortiz and Inez Ortiz. She is also the aunt of Lisa Holt.

(505) 238-9888 » www.canddgiftsnm.com

Santa Fe Art Auction

Pictured here is another example by husband-and-wife potters Lisa Holt and Harlan Reano, who have been making collaborative pottery since 1999. Santa Fe Art Auction is pleased to present their piece Singing Clown at the American Indian auction this August. Lisa Holt is from Cochiti Pueblo, and Reano is Kewa and from Santo Domingo Pueblo. The duo is known for their Cochiti-inspired figurative pottery.

932 Railfan Road » Santa Fe, NM 87505 » (505) 954-5858 » www.santafeartauction.com

Museum of Northern Arizona

This polychrome Hopi pot was created by Gloria Mahle, a Hopi-Tewa potter who has been creating in the traditional way since 1980. Her teachers and mentors were Eunice Navasie and Rainy Naha. Known for detail and symmetry, many of her designs come from pot shards she found on the ground near the ruins of Sikyátki Pueblo and from ancient rock art encountered in the canyons of Hopi.

3101 N. Fort Valley Road » Flagstaff, AZ 86001 » (928) 774-5213 » www.musnaz.org

Art Blackburn

“As someone who buys and sells important objects from around the world, I always concentrate on exceptional examples of prehistoric and historic pueblo pottery—with Nampeyo (1859-1942) being one of my favorite areas of interest,” says gallery owner Mark Blackburn. This masterpiece is from the artists early period, dating in the 1890s.

120 East El Paso, P.O. Box 485 » Marfa, TX 79843 » (808) 517-7154 » info@artblackburn.com » www.artblackburn.com