Very small Hopi-Tewa pot with a simple monochromatic design, signed “Nampeyo.”
Like 1985-01 and 1997-01, this pot was made by the “Old Lady,” painted and signed by a female relative and probably sold through the Museum of Northern Arizona Hopi Craftsman Exhibition, 1930 through 1936. “The requirement to identify the maker on each piece explains those few extant vessels bearing the name ‘Nampeyo’ painted for her by a family member. (Kramer, 1996:134).”
For a complete list pots in the collection formed by Nampeyo but painted by a relative, see the Artist List under “Nampeyo: Signed.” For a discussion identifying which female relative probably signed a pot, see Appendix E.
Purchase History: This pot was offered on eBay by Catherine Anne Abram of 34, Green Close, Charlton Marshall, Dorset, England. I had intended to bid on it, but did not have a computer available when the bidding closed on December 22. Oddly the pot had not received any bids; I emailed Cathy to ask if the pot might be available for sale directly. What happened was friendship. It seems we shared a life-long affection for things Native American, We chatted extensively by email and Cathy decided to give back some of pleasure she had received from this pot by sending it back to the Hopi people with a stopover in my collection. Cathy found this small pot in a box at a car-boot sale in a little village called Sturminster Newton, Dorset UK about 10 years ago. The cost was about L1.00 (less than US $2.00). One might infer that a British tourist to the US in the 1930s bought this small pot as a souvenir of the American Southwest because it is a lovely piece and because it would pack easily and safely in a suitcase. From Hopi to England to Texas and then back to Hopi: a story not at all unlike the migration of the Hopi people after their emergence into this Fourth World. Like 2002-08, sometimes small, inexpensive discoveries become significant contributions to Nampeyo family history.