Hello again. I have found a large piece of pottery, hand made and not on a wheel, and with a very distinctive painted design of the famous petroglyph 'Tsagaglal.' Translated as 'She Who Watches', Tsagaglal is a culturally significant petroglyph from Washington state that was endangered by and therefore moved before the final construction of The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River in 1957, the same event that devastated the cultural landmark Celilo Falls. The pot is signed 'Margie', I think, and has the piece of paper and loose tobacco in it. To my knowledge, pottery is more rare here in the US Pacific Northwest, compared to the Southwest, but it's not unheard of. Does anyone have opinions as to whether this is just a random piece by a person who liked the petroglyph design, or if this is something more significant or if it fits into a regional cultural tradition? Who might Margie be? Thank you all!
I have no idea who "Margie" is/was, but I can tell you that the pot is a piece of American raku (also called post-firing reduction), a firing technique which was invented by American studio potter Paul Soldner in 1960. By the late 1960s/early 1970s, workshops, classes, and individual potters were making raku pottery all over the world. By the time the internet became a popular source of "information," stories were circulated about it being a traditional pottery done by various tribes. But it is not. There was no American raku before 1960. (There is Japanese Raku, but that is not the same thing at all.) Since nearly everyone who has ever taken a pottery class since 1970 has probably at one time done a raku firing, this could have been made by any "Margie" who was inspired by, or influenced, by the famous petroglyph. The way she signed it is typical of a hobby or class work. It's a carefully done copy of the She-Who-Watches image, but not Native American Indian, not older than the 1960s, with no cultural tradition.
As always, I totally appreciate your expertise and knowledge. Thank you! And I love how gracefully you add, ahem, 'commentary' like this one: So true. Thank you again!
