NEHMA | Collection

Garnet Pavatea (aka Flower Girl)

Native American
(1915–1981)

Jar
Date unknown

Earthenware
6.75 x 7.125 x 7.125 in.
Museum Permanent Collection
1984.1601

Garnet Pavatea’s Jar is constructed from iron-rich earthenware clay with black and red slip and corrugated triangular indentations at the rim. This Hopi-Tewa potter, like the Nampeyo family, drew inspiration from the ceramic shards and designs found at the archaeological site of Sikyatki, a Hopi village which thrived between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. This common reference point at times resulted in conflict between Pavatea and the Nampeyos, as potters struggled to distinguish themselves on the market. However, it was Pavatea’s contention that the Sikyatki designs belonged to all of the Hopi as a shared heritage. She distinguished her work from other Hopi potters by using a two-tone slip technique, which created a contrasting interior and exterior.

Garnet Pavatea was born in Hano near First Mesa, Arizona. Her father, Duwakaku was a silversmith. Pavatea began making pottery in the 1940s and was an important figure in disseminating the Hopi-Tewa style through demonstrations of her creative process in museum institutions throughout the Southwest.

Matthew Limb

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