Small Hopi-Tewa seed pot with two framing lines (thick and thin) on top and bottom with a simple geometric designs repeated in three panels, signed “Beatrice Nampeyo,” 1930s (?). Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Annie and thus the granddaughter of Nampeyo. She died in 1942 (age 30), the same year as her grandmother. 1942 must have been a very difficult year for Annie. There is a picture of one of her pots and a brief discussion of Beatrice in Barsook (1974:34): Beatrice “was briefly involved with pottery, but moved away after marrying. The date of her death is uncertain…” (Dillingham, 1994:43). There is a picture of Beatrice ca 1930 in Dillingham. I had never seen a Beatrice pot directly until 2002-08 was listed on eBay. The collection now has three additional pots by Beatrice, most of them miniature: 2005-04, 2020-13 and 2020-14.
Purchase History:
Purchased on 7/17/02 on eBay. The seller had purchased it on 9/25/81 from Country Living Antiques in Mesilla, NM for $2.00, a “good buy,” he thinks. The current high price for this small and otherwise undistinguished pot is an indication of its rarity.