Navajo Indians have been making practical pottery for years. When metal utensils became available to the Navajo through the trading posts, pottery production declined. Then Bill Beaver came along back in the 1930's. Bill worked at the Shonto Trading Post, and he encouraged Navajo potters to make pottery for the tourists, like the potters from the various pueblos were doing. Today families from the Shonto-Cow Springs area of the Navajo reservation are some of the best known makers of traditional Navajo brownware and folk art pottery. Bill Beaver, who now owns the Sacred Mountain Trading Post, is still encouraging the potters. Betty Manygoats and her children and clan relatives are producing wonderful pieces of pottery. The Williams family is also making fine Navajo pottery in the traditional way, but in more contemporary designs and finishes. They still have to go out and dig the clay, clean and prepare it, roll it into coils and shape the coiled clay into the pottery. The clay is then hand smoothed and hand polished using gourds and stones. Finally the pots are fired, usually in open pits fueled with sheep dung. The final step in completing the piece is the application of two coats of melted pinyon pitch which gives the piece its shiny appearance and brown color. We are pleased to offer here some of the fine quality work of the Navajo potters.
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Traditional
and Contemporary Navajo Pottery |
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SOLD
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SOLD |