Tahbo, Mark – Sikyatki Bird Seedpot (2000)

6"w x 3"h

$ 1,600.00

This is a striking seedpot by Mark Tahbo.  He was known not just for his painted pottery, but especially for the blushes on his pottery from the firing.  This seedpot is from 2000.  It is coil-built, stone polished, and thin-walled.  The top is painted with bee-weed (black) and two different colors of clay slip.  The design is a Sikyatki-style bird with wings upturned.  Mark was often trying to modernize and create his own stylistic elements based on traditional designs.  Note the little rounded “feathers” on the wings, and the precision of the tail feathers.  What is most interesting is the “mauve” clay used on the body of the bird.  I remember when Mark first found the mauve or purple-colored clay.  It came from near First Mesa and he said that if he polished it, it would turn red, so he always left it matte.  Not only did it create visual contrast and new coloration, but the matte stands out against the blushes and natural color of the clay.  This seedpot was traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  The seedpot 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, especially at this size!

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