Bowl
Nambé Pueblo (Nambe)
Southwest
collected 1923
Terracotta
Overall: 3 1/2 × 6 in. (8.9 × 15.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Emily W. and George H. Browne
42.12.8075
Geography
Place Made: Nambé Pueblo, United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Pottery
Research Area
Native American
Native American: Southwest
Not on view
Label
Micaceous clay contains tiny inclusions of the mineral mica throughout. Because of its strength and natural heat retention, it has been used historically by Pueblos and other communities to seal their pottery for use in cooking and storage. Lonnie Vigil uses the natural distribution of sparkling mica flecks to transform his vessel from utilitarian pot into fine art. Vigil credits the guidance of his great-grandmother, great-aunts, the Earth Mother, and ancestral spirits in his refinement of the ceramic techniques passed down to him. The seal, made by an unknown artist, is more of a tourist souvenir, in which the micaceous clay is also used for decorative purposes. From the 2022 exhibition Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, curated by Dillen Peace '19, Native American Art Intern and Sháńdíín Brown '20, Native American Art Intern
Course History
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022
Writing Program 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023
Writing Program 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023
Exhibition History
Collectanea: The Museum as Hunter and Gatherer, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 21, 2005-February 12, 2006.
Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 2022-March 12, 2023.
Provenance
Collected by George H. Browne (1857-1931) and Emily Robbins Webster Browne (1861-1942), Cambridge, Massachusetts; given (by Miss Ellen A. Webster, Mrs. Browne's sister) to present collection, 1942.
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