What to Look for in Quality Southwest Native American Pottery
The most important factor when choosing your pottery is how pleasing it is to you. Even if you are buying the piece for an investment and plan to resell the pottery you still need to develop and trust your own sense of style. Also, you’ll receive more enjoyment displaying your investment for as long as you keep the pottery.
Other factors aside, the larger the pot the higher the value is a general rule of thumb. When it comes to miniatures, the smaller the pot the higher the value is a good rule of thumb.
An important factor to consider is the condition of the pot. Both greenware and thin walled coiled pots will make a bright pinging sound when you tap it. If you hear a dull thud it means that there is a hairline crack somewhere in the pot. This only holds true with thin walled pottery and doesn’t apply to the thicker walled pots, such as the ones made in Santa Clara Pueblo. Chips, cracks and scratches all will devalue your investment. You can expect some wear on older pottery pieces, but remember that when all else is equal, such as the date it was made and the artist, the better the condition, the higher the value.
In determining the value of your pottery, it’s important to keep in mind that handcoiled pottery takes much more time to make than greenware making the coiled pots more expensive. Most of the potters that we buy from dig and mix their own clay. Greenware is a slip cast ceramic made by the artist or carefully selected by the artist to paint. Acoma, Navajo and San Felipe artists often times make both hand coiled and greenware pottery. Most of the other Native American Pueblos only work with coiled pottery. At www.TheSantaFeStore.com we always let you know if the pottery is greenware or handcoiled as this is an important factor in the price.
A general rule is that the more intricate the design, the more value the pot holds. But its not just the intricacy that matters, also look for the quality of the work. For example a highly detailed fineline pot that is poorly executed will have far less value than one with better quality with lines that are even, symmetrical and smoothly painted. The same holds true for Storytellers, the more children in the piece the higher the value. However, if it’s poorly executed the value is less than one that is more carefully formed and painted.
In order of importance; awards won by the artist, the tribal association, and the artist’s family are all contributing factors in determining the value of the pot. The value increases greatly if an award was given for the pot you purchase. If the pot has won an award, be sure that the award ribbon is sold with the pot. If you have a photograph of the artist, the pot and the ribbon it may also increase the value of the piece depending on the collector you sell to.
Last but not least, is that every Pueblo has their own standards for that specific pottery. For example, when buying Santa Clara pottery, the value is determined by how smoothly the pot has been polished; in Acoma pottery the thinness of the walls affect its value.
Every pottery piece we sell at The Santa Fe Store is selected by hand. We never buy sight unseen and are committed to providing only quality Native American pottery pieces that will increase in value as you enjoy its simple beauty. I hope that these guidelines will help you in choosing your Southwest Native American pottery. Always remember that the bottom line is your personal enjoyment of the piece.
All Rights Reserved Copyright 2005 © The Santa Fe Store Dot Com
