Nampeyo Famous Female Hopi Potter Very Early Framed Color Photo Her & Pottery
Nampeyo Famous Female Hopi Potter Very Early Framed Color Photo Her & Pottery. Very early color photo of the world famous female Hopi-Tewa potter and ceramic artist Nampeyo.
1856 and died in 1942. She had lived her life on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona.
She had started going blind from trachoma at the turn of the century. From 1925 to her death she made pottery from touch and her family painted and decorated it. Several of her children and family members also made pottery and carried on her tradition.
This photo shows her working on a pot with 5 of her finished pots around her. From the info on back of the frame I think the photo should be from the mid to late 1920s. It is probably an Autochrome color photo which was the process available at the time. The photo is in a carved wood frame that is 8 1/2" wide by 6 3/8" tall.
The frame has a 1 border all around. The picture opening is about 6 3/8" wide by 4 3/8" tall. There is a piece of cardboard backing the picture and it is held in with nails. The back of the frame was then covered in brown paper which was glued down to the frame.
Across this diagonally is a piece of thick tape or other material. 1 1/4" wide and 8" long.
Printed on this strip is the following. Note that her name is misspelled as Nanpeo. THE GREATEST ARTIST OF HER TRIBE. This is Nanpeo the famous Hopi pottery maker, now nearly blind.
But her gift for ceramic decoration is to be transmitted through her daughters who have been carefully instructed in the use of designs which have a religious symbolism as well as esthetic qualities. Nanpeo is wearing a typical Hopi costume. I have been trying to find info on this picture but have not. The only thing that may be wrong with this theory is the name being misspelled. The Autochrome color photo process was expensive and labor intensive so I don't know if a tourist was able to take it theirself.It is old and appears to be all original. As mentioned earlier, because the typed strip mentions Nampeyo being almost blind it should date from the mid to late 1920s. As you see in the pictures below the paper backing is brittle, torn, pieces missing and overall poor shape. I thought that the previous owner had taken the backing off but it doesn't look like it has been off. The bottom right corner of the tape strip has not been broken and without doing that I don't think the backing would come off.
I have not attempted to do so. The paper and strip are loose otherwise and will fall away from the frame if not held on. The wooden frame has wear, scuffs, scrapes, and some splinters of wood off.
There are some paint splatter spots on the paper backing, tape and frame edges. The photo looks like the colors may have faded some.
Please scroll down to see all pictures. The amount quoted above is an estimate of the higher cost from east to west coast. Get Images that Make Supersized Seem Small. Auctiva's Listing Templates improve your auctions in minutes. Attention Sellers - Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva. The item "Nampeyo Famous Female Hopi Potter Very Early Framed Color Photo Her & Pottery" is in sale since Saturday, April 30, 2016. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Native American\ US\1800-1934\Photographic Images".The seller is "davel54" and is located in Pennsylvania. This item can be shipped to United States.