Featured Calling all Komokwas !

Or anyone else who knows Native American pottery. Found these two recently and yes I tried to identify them with zero luck. The black one I know is Navajo,but I dont know who. The other I *think* is Acoma,but again I dont know who. The black vase is 3 1/2 high ,the brown on is 5 1/3 . Any input is always appreciated.

 

The second one says it's Navajo - it says Dineh, the name they use for themselves. It's souvenir pottery. The blackware is a wedding jug shape, but that's as far as I get.

 

I swore it said Pinesh ! Thank you !

 

You can see, on the bottom of the second one, a seam-line, which indicates that this was a manufactured pot rather than a handmade one.

Navajo / Dine people make many kinds of art, but relatively little hand-made pottery. That which they do make is traditionally a kind of brown pottery and often has a shiny finish as a result of being treated with pitch from trees.

 

The "blackware" one is not traditional blackware, which is made by several pueblo tribes, but it is black pottery, just not traditional blackware.

The traditional blackware made by the pueblo tribes, like Santa Clara and San Ildefonso, acquire their black color through the way they are fired. Because oxygen is prevented from reaching the pot, a chemical reaction takes place, and what would turn out red under a regular firing, turns black. No glaze is used by the pueblo potters, but a shiny finish is a result of the part of the pot that is "burnished" (polished with a smooth stone.)

The Navajo pot, on the other hand, is made from a manufactured clay that fires black to begin with. The shiny areas which make up the design, are a result of glazing with a clear glaze. The matte area is the unglazed part.

It's a lot faster, easier to get a pot that "looks like" blackware made by the pueblo potters, and requires a kiln, rather than the outdoor fire used traditionally. It's an adaption made by the Navajo, who haven't traditionally made blackware, but can get a similar look, with less risk, (and work). Which explains the price difference difference between traditional blackware, and pottery made for the souvenir tourist trade that the Navajo make.

 

Fascinating info. Thank you all so much. Always learning on here. What I know about Native American anything wouldnt fill the head of a pin.

 

Ahhhh, just the right amount of Komokwas to sleuth out the proper info and get to the bottom of the matter !!


Komo sez........ well done gang !!..

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Beautiful Komokwa mask @komokwa !

 

Deets on the mask, please. (Very cool!)

 

Deets....as in details?

Komokwa mask
King of the undersea world
Seal helpers down both sides of the main face
Human face on the forehead ( transformation aspect )
Octopus headdress , with salmon on both ends
surmounted by a supernatural killer whale
Halibut , on the back of the mask...

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Artist said to be Bob Harris..... *( credit , David Neel )

https://www.native-indian.com/bobharris.php

 

When I grow up...I want one of these...

 

There are masks of other cultures....around the globe... some fantastic, some sublime , & I respect them all......but the masks of the 1st nations Northwest Coast cultures...... blow me away .... and the great ones are to me, Ne Plus Ultra !!

 

"When you see the work of Kwakiutl artist, Bob Harris, you can't help but ask; how can this artist be unrecognized after so many years?"

Indeed! Stunning masks, and so many transformation masks too!

Agree. The masks themselves are pure theatre, and the artistry and expression are magnificent.

 

I wouldn't mind transforming into an Orca for a while. (and if I score a mask like that in a rummage sale, I promise that Komo gets dibs!)

 

Well for that...... but Komo don't have that kind of money !!

 

There is an estate sale coming up locally, but it's a moving sale and the stuff has my cussword attached - NEW.

 

Ah, Kwakiutl. I've seen some pretty good PNW native carvings, but this is powerful.