Wedding Vase, signature ID help.

This may just be greenware that was decorated by the signer? I picked it up for a couple bucks at a thrift store a year or so ago. I’ve never seen any decorated like this. Guessing it’s imitating hieroglyphics. Maybe a stencil? Kind of a cool look either way. I can’t make out the first name at all. The last name looks like Nayo, Noyo, or maybe Vayo? Just want to rule it out as a name that may add value. I’m guessing it’s not such a name.

 

You are right in questioning this pot. It was made by Cedar Mesa, a pottery factory and wholesaler in Blanding, Utah.

They manufactured souvenir pottery for the tourist trade, and hired primarily Navajo workers to decorate and sign the pottery to the specifications of the factory. It was made on an assembly line, from cast molds, and then decorated with stencils, and signed by the workers, who did not create the pottery itself.

It was not traditional Native American pottery by any means, despite the claims of the factory, although they did produce dozens of designs, patterns, or "themes" in a "Southwest" style. This particular pot is from the "Ancient Shadows" line, whose designs are taken from ancient Native American petroglyphs.

There was no connection with any Native American tribe, other than the fact that the company hired some Navajo workers. The company owners were not members of any U.S. tribe.

Although the factory did provide jobs for some Navajo workers, it probably did more damage on the whole to the Native American economy. The income of individual tribal member potters, making authentic, traditional pottery, is hurt when tourists end up buying Cedar Mesa, or other factory pottery, instead of the real thing.

Recently the factory merged with two former competitors, Mesa Verde, and Ute Mountain Pottery. All were factories making similar southwest souvenir pottery, that hired primarily Navajo or Ute tribal members to decorate and sign the items. So Cedar Mesa Pottery no longer exists as an independent company.

 

I should have mentioned that the "signature" really makes no difference to the minimal, purely decorative, value of the piece.

It likely is "M. Redhorse, Navajo." You will find "M. Redhorse" was signed on many of the Cedar Mesa design lines, in many different styles of writing, indicating that they were not all signed by the same individual.

It's probably just be a commonly-used signature that had a "Native American" feel, and therefore increased sales and added to the "credibility" of the popular tourist giftware the factory produced.

 

Great and informative comment. Thanks for that

 

In spotting greenware, I look for symmetry and uniformity-- uniformity of thickness, shape, smoothness, and in this case, between the two spouts. These are usually signs of form-made blanks. (I think you already know these things.)

Ironically, though, those same traits are kinda ideals to find in handmade pots-- a consistently thin, symmetrical, perfectly round, close to perfectly balanced but still hand-made pot? Well, now, that one's a keeper!

 

Thanks. Great to have all that information. I love learning little bits like this. I hesitated to even post it in the “tribal” section as I assumed it was at best exactly what you described. That being possibly signed by an NA “artist”. I figured in the end it was probably best to put it here as an example if I was right. It’s definitely a real bummer that someone will buy something like this when visiting the SW vs. something made by a native artisan and not know the difference. Thanks for correcting hieroglyph vs petroglyph btw. Definitely a brain fart there.

 

I think I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting it at this point. You’re definitely right in that you’re looking for the same things for the most part. I’d imagine this form in particular is pretty tricky to make 100% smooth and symmetrical by hand. I did wind up with a nice handmade NA pot recently. I’ll have to post it sometime.