As
Quickly And Dexterously As Can Be, Her Hands And The Spat Manipulate The
Vessel, Until It Has The Desired Shape.
More coils of clay are then added,
and the shaping continues until the vessel is complete.
Now it is put out
into the sun to dry, and when reasonably solid, it is ready for the
painting and decoration. With a rude brush made of horsehair or yucca
fibre, and paints gathered and ground by herself, she works out the design
that her imagination has already created and pictured upon her piece of
work. Some of these designs represent conventionalized objects of
nature - birds, clouds, mountains, rain, corn, lightning, tadpoles,
dragon-flies, horned toads, serpents and the like; others are purely
geometrical, and the variety and extent of them are more wonderful than any
except the experts realize. In a monograph upon the ancient pottery of
these people, Dr. Fewkes pictures every known geometrical figure of ancient
and modern times, all of which were copied by him from vessels that have
been excavated from ancient ruins and graves.
The Pottery of Nampeyo. Every village has its own style of pottery. Among
the Hopis, the finest potter is a resident of Tewa or Hano, Nampeyo by
name. Her ware is characterized by beauty of shape, perfection of form,
dignity and character in design, and a general appearance that is pleasing
and artistic. Zuni pottery is of a superior quality to that of Acoma,
Laguna, and the other villages near by, and often contains in its designs
the deer, with its peculiar red line of throat leading to the heart.
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