Nampeyo, Polacca polychrome water jar
About this video
Two speakers examine a large Polacca polychrome water jar by Nampeyo of First Mesa, the first Native American artist known by name. The pot shows two pairs of spirit figures, a Pahlikmana danced by a woman and a male hunter kachina, painted as if caught mid-dance. They also explain how such pots are coil-built from sacred clay, painted with mineral paints using yucca brushes, and pit-fired at the risk of cracking.
You'll be able to
- explain why Nampeyo is significant in Pueblo pottery.
- describe the spirit figures and how Nampeyo shows movement.
- outline how a Pueblo pot is made and fired.
Key words
- Polacca polychrome
- A many-coloured Hopi pottery style with a white slip.
- slip
- A thin layer of liquid clay brushed on a pot to give it a smooth coloured surface.
- kachina
- A Pueblo spirit figure, often represented by masked dancers.
- tablita
- A tall headdress, here an abstraction of rising clouds and feathers.
- pit firing
- Hardening pottery by firing it outdoors in a pit, which risks cracking.
Transcript
VALLO: As an Acoma tribal member, I’m particularly interested in the materials that come from the southwest. This large water jar, made in Hopi by Nampeyo, who was from First Mesa, was probably in the home and was a storage jar for water.
TORRENCE: Nampeyo is regarded as the great matriarch of Pueblo pottery. She is the first Native American artist to have been known by name. She achieved international fame and was well known as a potter when this pot was created. What we see in this pot is known as Polacca polychrome, a white-slipped ware.
Pueblo pots are not glazed, they’re painted. What’s depicted here are two pairs of spirit figures on opposing sides. One is a Pahlikmana, a spirit figure that is danced by a woman, with a very very elaborate tablita headdress that is an abstraction of rising cloud forms and feathers.
This figure is caught in the moment. The dancer’s head tips to the right and her arm, in an opposing gesture, tips to the left. And on the opposing sides is a male kachina, a mask spirit figure, probably a hunter. This figure carries a bow and arrow as well as a rattle.
This figure stands erect, the head is tipped back slightly. What you have here is the perfect gesture of the dance, as though that kachina is standing five feet away from you.
VALLO: The design on this piece is just exquisite. You have the rainbow and then the clouds and rain symbols along the neck of the pot. Pottery of this type are made by a coiling method. The Hopi people have a source for clay. Clay is also a very sacred resource.
Most potters will refer to the clay as the Clay Mother. The mineral paints are also gathered from local area. Once the designs are applied, usually using yucca fibers, the pot is ready for outdoor pit firing. That’s a risk, because after you’ve gone through all of this process of creating the pot and decorating the pot, there’s always that chance in the firing process that it will crack.
TORRENCE: I believe that what Nampeyo was doing in this pot was painting a lived personal experience. These are not simply static representations. What she has captured here is the very moment of the dance. There’s an intensity to these figures and an otherworldliness.
You look at this pot and it’s an encounter with a spirit figure.
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