Object: Cooking Pot

E/1956/6/2
Navajo Tribe: Cooking Pot
Southwest US
19th Century
Materials: Ceramic

This cooking pot is an example of Navajo pottery from the early 1800s. Navajo pottery has been in production for hundreds of years and is unique from the pottery of many other American Indian tribes in that it does not exhibit the artistic designs traditionally associated with Indian pottery (compare to the example of Hopi pottery below). Painted designs were prohibited due to a belief that they would bring misfortune to the tribe. Navajo pottery was produced primarily by women, though in recent years this has changed with the work of male artists such as Jimmy Wilson. The process of making Navajo pottery is unique. Unlike other tribes, the Navajo do not grind old shards of pottery for reuse in new pieces. This comes from the belief that old pottery shards belong to Anasazi ancestors. Also unique to the Navajo tradition is the practice of covering pottery pieces with melted piñon pitch after firing. The coating gives Navajo pottery a dark appearance and distinct smell.

Navajo pottery was not recognized for its artistic value until the 1950s when artists such as Rose Williams attracted the attention of museum markets and pottery fairs. Today, however, there are many collectors of Navajo pottery and interest in its production has been revived. Museums now display Navajo pottery and schools offer lessons on Navajo pottery techniques. Many Navajo artists fire their pieces one at a time, outside in a traditional fire pit. The process involves the whole family, as individual members are responsible for digging the clay, coiling/pinching the vessel, gathering the pitch, and tending the fire.

The following is a video excerpt of Michelle Williams, granddaughter of Rose Williams, explaining how she makes contemporary Navajo pottery. Check it out and enjoy learning the Story Behind the Object! [Lauren  Simons]

[Lauren Simons]

Object: Rug on loom

E/1981/6/1
United States, Arizona
Navajo
1930’s
Materials: wool, wood

This partially complete weaving was made on an unknown Arizona reservation as a demonstration piece and was later donated to the museum. It is very likely that the Navajo learned to weave from neighboring Pueblo groups no later than the seventeenth century, though Navajo legends tell of how weaving was first taught to them by Spider Woman. Since then, they have become well known as masters of the craft and their pieces are still highly valued. Nearly all Navajo weavers are women, while men traditionally make the loom and tools.

Because this particular rug is only half-complete, it is easy to see many of the characteristics that distinguish Navajo weavings. All the yarn is handspun wool, as opposed to commercially made or cotton yarn. Germantown style rugs were woven with commercial yarn and occasionally cotton warp (the lengthwise threads), but this in an exception. This piece also has two shades of carded gray, made by blending white and black wool together. While some Navajo rugs, especially those in the “eye dazzler” style, incorporate several bright colors, most have a natural palette with one accent color, usually red. The Navajo maintain strong, straight edges by weaving in a selvage cord as they go, which is often of a contrasting color. Here, a two-ply black yarn is used for that purpose. The top and bottom edges of Navajo weavings are also flat and smooth, rather than fringed. This is due to the warp thread being set up on the loom in a continuous figure eight, eliminating loose ends and allowing the entire warp area to be filled.

A traditional element of Navajo weaving not present in this piece is a spirit line, though it is typically made just before the piece is finished. According to legend, when Spider Woman walked away from the tree where the gift of weaving came to her, she left a line behind her, a line that lead to new things. When Spider Woman shared her gift with the Navajo, she taught them to leave a line that ran out of the pattern and to the edge of the blanket. This was the line that she had left behind her, and it allowed the weaver’s mind to be released from the finished piece and move on to new things [Holly Thompson].