1997-08 Tall-Shouldered Pot with Sikyatki Butterfly Design

Folk Art Butterfly Design

Object ID:
1997-08

Artist:
Mark Tahbo

Dimensions:
6.125" h X 11.0" w

Hopi polychrome jar with a version of the old Sikyatki butterfly design, by Mark Tahbo. The pot is similar in design (but not shape) to another mark Tahbo pot, (1995-01) and is another version of the prehistoric design famously adopted by Grace Chapella. Mark is the great-grand daughter of Grace Chapella.  Grace’s daughter Alma Chapella Tahbo had a son Ramon Tahbo. He married Mary and they had a son Mark (1958-2017) and a daughter, Dianna (1960-2011).

For a butterfly jar by Grace that is part of this collection, see 2010-22. For Mark’s understanding of the meaning of this design, see the catalog entry for the Grace pot.

This jar is no longer in this collection.  It was donated to the fall 2022 silent auction at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Purchase History:
This was one of the hundreds of pots hidden away by the owners of the Covered Wagon in Albuquerque and sold after the owner’s death. The stash of pottery was appraised by Col. “JR” Bloom who estimated that this pot was made in 1985, when Mark would have been about 27 years old, which was about 7 years after he began making pottery.