This small pot is a good though small example of the Sikyatki Revival pottery made by Garnet Pavatea (1915-1981), who for many years was a frequent pottery demonstrator at the Museum of Northern Arizona.
The pot is somewhat thick-walled and thus unexpectedly heavy. The inside of the lip is polished and the jar has dramatic blushing on its bottom from the outdoor dung firing.
Below the raised lip are traditional thick-over-thin framing lines. The lower end of the design is unbounded. The design consists of two patterns, each alternately repeated twice.
The more elaborate consists of a large solid black dot at the end of a long curved black line. About an inch behind the dot the line branches into two curves that broaden into a 0 .5-inch wide arch that narrows as it approaches the framing lines and then again broadens suddenly into a box–like shape. This arch and the attached square shape are painted red, the only color on the pot. At this point design widens again and is crossed by three parallel lines, forming a two-lane “highway,” an element frequently seen on Nampeyo’s pots. Next, and flat against the highway, is the base of a small, solid black hill (or gumdrop, if you prefer). Beyond the hill the width of the design continues to slowly expand but an area is left unpainted. After about 0.25 inches this unpainted surface divides into two lobes that become feathers. The tip of each feather is painted black but towards the interior of the design only the lower half of the feather is painted, giving the tips the rough shape of the letter “J” laid on its side.
The second design is even simpler. From the framing line moving downward, Garnet drew a “U” shaped line tilted on its side so the the lower point touches the red arch of the first design. The resulting enclosed area is left unpainted, but the space beyond the base of the U is painted solid black and has a straight-edge base. From here to its end the pattern is a repeat of the first design: a two-lane highway is followed by a black hill and an unpainted space that branches into two feathers with black “J” shaped tips. In a reversal of the pattern seen in the first design, however, here the unpainted half of the J-tip is the lower half.
This collection has four other items by Garnet, but until now no non-figural Sikyatki Revival pot, a mainstay of her work. She made much grander pots, but this is a good example of her style. (See the Artist List for other pottery by Garnet.)
