Tahbo, Mark – Seed Bowl with “Bird Who Fell into the Pot” (2016)
$ 1,600.00
This is a creative design by Mark Tahbo. He was known not just for his painted pottery, but especially for the blushes on his pottery from the firing. This bowl is from 2016. It is coil-built, stone-polished, and thin-walled and painted with bee-weed and clay slips. It has a wide shoulder and half is plain and half is painted. Mark would often create his own stories about the designs he painted on his pottery. This design is an evolution from the classic “eagle tail” design. I remember Mark would say that on this piece, the bird would walk up to the jar and fall in, leaving only its legs and tail feathers showing! It was the feathers that he would then paint so that each was colorful and captured his story. This jar was traditionally fired with just slight blushes on the surface. It is signed on the bottom “Mark Tahbo” and a pipe for Tobacco Clan. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. It is an exciting and visually dynamic piece of his pottery in color.
For traditional Hopi-Tewa pottery, there are no shortcuts. I feel that the younger people, they aren’t as fortunate as I was. I was born at a time where I was with the elder women who revived Hopi-Tewa pottery and brought it to this level. I learned the old style. From how to get the clay, how to process it, from start to finish. They were simple, maybe even crude ways, but they worked. Today, it seems like the storytelling is almost gone. I always tell younger potters that it’s one of the most important foundations we can have as Hopi-Tewa potters. A story. Something to lean back on. If you don’t have that root or that foundation, you have nothing. You are just floating on your own. Soak it all in and listen to all the old stories that you can. There are just no shortcuts. You have to learn the hard way and have patience.” Mark Tahbo, Spoken Through Clay
In stock
This is one of the few white slipped jars by Mark Tahbo. He was known not just for his painted pottery, but especially for the blushes on his pottery from the firing. This jar is from 1999. It is coil-built, stone-polished, and thin-walled. You might think of white Hopi-Tewa pottery with the Navasie and Naha families. Mark made just a few white pieces, as he always had a bit of trouble polishing the white. However, the results on the few pieces I saw, were always fantastic. This jar is one of his classic shapes. As for the design, it is painted with bee-weed and three different clay slips. Mark would often create his own stories about the designs he painted on his pottery. This design is an evolution from the classic “eagle tail” design. I remember Mark would say that on this piece, the bird would walk up to the jar and fall in, leaving only its legs and tail feathers showing! It was the feathers that he would then paint so that each was colorful and captured his story. This jar was traditionally fired with just slight blushes on the surface. It is signed on the bottom “Mark Tahbo” and a pipe for Tobacco Clan. It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. It is an exciting and visually dynamic piece of his pottery in color.
For traditional Hopi-Tewa pottery, there are no shortcuts. I feel that the younger people, they aren’t as fortunate as I was. I was born at a time where I was with the elder women who revived Hopi-Tewa pottery and brought it to this level. I learned the old style. From how to get the clay, how to process it, from start to finish. They were simple, maybe even crude ways, but they worked. Today, it seems like the storytelling is almost gone. I always tell younger potters that it’s one of the most important foundations we can have as Hopi-Tewa potters. A story. Something to lean back on. If you don’t have that root or that foundation, you have nothing. You are just floating on your own. Soak it all in and listen to all the old stories that you can. There are just no shortcuts. You have to learn the hard way and have patience.” Mark Tahbo, Spoken Through Clay
Brand
Tahbo, Mark (1958-2017)
Mark Tahbo
Mark Tahbo was a Hopi-Tewa member of the Tobacco Clan. He had been an active potter since 1978. He learned to make pottery from his great-grandmother, Grace Chapella. His sisters Diana and Pam were also potters. Mark was influential in the early 1990s in recognizing Hopi pottery's traditional firing and keeping it as a practice among Hopi-Tewa.
Mark had won numerous awards for his pottery at Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Indian Market, and Gallup Ceremonials. In 1991, he won the Overall Prize at Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1992 he was awarded Best of Division at the Heard Museum Indian Fair. Awards continued to be presented to him in 1993 and 1994. His pottery is featured in books such as "Talking with the Clay" and "Collecting Authentic Indian Art." He is remembered as one of the exceptional traditional innovators of Hopi pottery. His pieces reflect the remarkable symmetry and thin walls of an excellent potter. The designs are painted using native clay slips and beeweed plants for the black.
Sadly, Mark passed away in December 2017. We were lucky to work with him at King Galleries for over 20 years. His creativity and artistic genius will be missed.