Tahbo, Mark – Jar with Sikyatki Butterflies (1996)

7.5"w x 4"h

$ 1,200.00

Mark Tahbo learned to make pottery from his great grandmother, Grace Chapella.  His pieces reflect the wonderful symmetry and thin walls of an excellent potter. The designs are painted using native clay slips and bee-weed (a plant) for the black. This jar from 1996 harkens to his early work and it is unexpectedly thin, which makes it a delight to hold.  The jar is a shape which allows for the painted designs to flow up from the shoulder to the neck. It is an interesting pattern, as it one which Mark rarely used on his pottery.  It is a pair of opposing butterflies on each side of the jar.  Their bodies are made up of traditional Hopi-Tewa designs. and separating them are stylized wing patterns.  It is his own variation on the classic “eagle tail” pattern which is often used, but here with the butterflies as a replacement.  Of course, the jar was traditionally fired and the blushes, which  he loved on his  pottery, cover the surface and enhance the design.  The jar is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.