Welcome to
First People Potsan online catalog of 500+ pieces of Native American artwork owned by a private collector, described by Cowboys & Indians Magazine as “a valuable resource for collectors, galleries, and scholars.”
2023-12 Long Hair Katsina tile
The fine-line migration design has become a standardize design used by potters at Hopi, and, at first glance, that is what one’s eye sees here. Randall Sahmie (1950-2008) is best known for his katchia carvings and painting. He was an...
2023-11 Modern Polik’ Mana tile
This collection contains about a dozen versions of the Polik’Mana, from a tile (2014-10) and a tray (2017-04) by Nampeyo, to modern tiles (cf 2017-03), canteens, vases, a corn meal bowl, and even an image painted on cloth but posing as a...
2023-10 Cookie jar with folk art birds, side lugs and a lid
Jar is 6.5625” h X 7.5625” wide without lid or handles. The lid is 2.1875” high and 4.25" wide with a 3.1875” interior ring. Since as early as 1300 CE, when coal-fired Jeddito ware was widely traded,...
2023-09 Vintage jar with clown face & red moon celebration
This is a well-crafted bowl by a well-known artist (1888-1978) whose lineage is difficult to translate into American standard ancestry, and who thus remains a bit of a mystery. The collection contains...
2023-08 Large Rick Dillingham–Rachael Sahmie collaboration pot
This is an extraordinarily imperfect pot, with 12 pop outs, a hole in its base, uneven polishing and a couple of dark smudges from its outdoor firing. Nevertheless, this is a unique and...
2023-07 Pot with pointillism and contradiction of design
Pot 2023-07 was part of a three-piece box lot I bought at auction, which reduced the attention I paid to the details of each piece. When I unpacked the pieces and saw the design on this pot more clearly, the...
