I’m digressing here a bit, but because I posted my porcupine quill box that has the bison on top, I wondered how many of you knew that IN has a bison on it’s state seal? IN and bison aren’t things that people typically think of together. And it’s weird to think that at one point in time they were all over my Hoosier state. Bison are one of my favorite all American animals (although I do know there is such a thing as a European bison).
That is spectacular. You don’t see many in the form of a pitcher. I’ve always been partial to Santa Clara pottery. Here is our only piece by Effie Garcia,1990.
Oh I love all these! So beautiful. Thanks y’all for sharing!
We have stopped buying pottery lately because our house is full, and that darn budget. But we have one smaller Santa Clara pot which we bought at Cameron Trading Post years ago. I think it’s signed Vicki Martinez (I’d have to dig out the receipt to be sure).
In 1971 my mom was trying to decide between a Santa Clara or Zia pot at the Buffalo Bill Museum. She could have gotten a large Santa Clara piece for 50.00, but went with what she loved, the Zia one. She passed it on to me, and I treasure it. Don’t know the artist.
Very nice, Zia! Our Santa Clara pottery both feature Avanyu. Here is our Zia pottery by mother/daughter team Sofia & Lois Medina, 1990s. Sadly both ladies have passed.
Avanyu is the water serpent deity of the Pueblo tribes of Arizona and New Mexico, often depicted on San Ildefonso and Santa Clara Pueblo pottery. The Avanyu symbolizes the importance of water to indigenous desert cultures. This symbol is also associated with lightning as shown by the serpent’s tongue. Avanyu appears on the walls of caves located high above washes and rivers in New Mexico and Arizona. - courtesy of Garland’s
I took photos of it to Garland’s one year, because at that point we really didn’t know what Pueblo it was from. I suspected Zia but wasn’t sure, and they confirmed that. They felt it was a really nice pot. So much so that my mom was nervous about having it sit out in her house
So I’m constantly learning something new on here. I have tried to learn quite a bit about the different Pueblo pottery, but I hadn’t paid much attention to what the symbols meant. I hadn’t heard of Avanyu till a little while ago on here when mmrogers mentioned it in relation to a Hopi cuff. Then on your pottery today. Out of curiosity I Googled Vickie Martinez who made my pot, and what do you know, turns out what I thought was just an arrow or lightning bolt is also an Avanyu.
Yes, it is! That’s what I meant in my post below. I noticed the lightning bolt coming out of the Avanyu’s mouth in your pottery. When I said “Our” I meant my pottery and your pottery. It wasn’t clear the way I said it.
