Taos • Sandia • San Felipe • Isleta • Cochiti • San Juan • Tesuque • Pojoaque • Navajo • Sioux • Mohawk

Other Tribes & Pueblos

Pueblo Pottery Maine presents both traditional and contemporary pottery by artists from several pueblos and tribes including Navajo artists Lorraine Williams, Wesley Begaye, Irene White, and Dennis Charlie; Tesuque artist Lorencita Pino, Teresa & Thelma Tapia; Cherokee potter Amanda Plummer; John Montoya of Sandia Pueblo; Rosita DeHererra of San Juan Pueblo; Pine Ridge Sioux artist Red Starr; Joe & Thelma Talachy of Pojoaque Pueblo; Ralph Aragon of San Filipe Pueblo; Myrtle Cata of San Felipe and Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Pueblos, and Mohawk potter Sosakete, Roger Perkins.

How to make a Purchase

Westly Begaye was born in 1965 and is of the Navajo Nation in Arizona. His work is a merging of both the Navajo and Acoma Pueblo cultures.

The top piece is a beautiful pot with a deer motif in the center, Tularosa swirl and kiva step designs on the bottom half among other graphics created in Westly’s unique polychrome style. It has excellent shape and an elongated neck with kiva steps cut into the opening. This is a really stunning piece, graceful and beautifully hand painted. It is 12 inches tall and 7 inches wide. Your price $425 ~ Item #MP202 Click here to see an enlargement.

The piece at right is a polychrome canteen measuring 8 inches tall by 6.5 inches wide. It utilizes a lizard and a kokopelli motif and other traditional graphics. A unique piece. Your price $350 ~ Item #MP248

The slip cast plates below make great gifts for the home. Although not handcoiled plates (which would be $100s more), they are great canvases for Wesley's considerable talents as a painter offering a bright, whimsical, Southwest Native American touch of spirit and color to any home decor.

At left is a 13-inch diameter, slip cast plate by Westly with deer. We do not usually carry any slip cast/greenware pottery but these plates have such a strong visual presence we decided to allow these few pieces. All the plates have leather hangers on the back (pictured). Your price $235 ~ Item #MP240. Click here to see the fine detail of these plates enlarged.

Westly learned pottery creation in the Acoma tradition of gathering and processing the clay, hand coiling; hand painting with natural paints, and open wood firing. His teacher was the late Marie Francis Vallo who was his companion for many years. Marie was the mother of Acoma potters Leland Robert Vallo, Kim Vallo, and Thomas Vallo. Robert’s and Kim’s work can be seen in our Acoma Pueblo section.

At right is an 11 inch slip cast plate with a parrot as the central graphic. In the Acoma tradition, the parrot is symbolic of the matriarchal society, women, and fertility. Your price $135 ~ Item #MP241. SOLD

Westly has evolved his own style of contemporary pottery. He still uses traditional ways to create the work but the designs have a decidedly contemporary flare that continues to increase in popularity. His colors and graphics (includes Mimbres,Kokopelli, kiva steps, fineline) are distinctive which often make his work recognizable even at a distance. It is uplifting work and often seems whimsical. The rust colored pieces are a popular choice for complimenting Southwest and rustic interior designs.

At left, above, is a handcoiled seedpot with grasshopper and parrot motif measuring 5 inches tall by 5.5 inches wide. Your price $195 ~ Item #MP232.

Westly has won several awards for his work and we've seen the prices for his pottery steadily increase over the last few years as his unique pottery style has gained acceptance among mainstream admirers of Southwest pottery. His pots and vases have very thin walls in the finest Acoma tradition. Click here to see Westly's beautiful wedding vases.

Place your cursor on the top image to see another view of the pottery.

How to make a Purchase

Tomasita Reyes Montoya was a potter of Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo) born in 1899 and died in 1978. She is a historically important figure in pueblo pottery's development for her role as one of the seven potters who began the "San Juan Revival" of the 1930s.

This is a vintage piece, one of her tan on redware plates, and a very significant piece for collectors. Her work is rarely seen on the market. It is in good condition but some spots. Please look at the enlargement to see these flaws. This plate can also seen on page 272 of Dr. Gregory Schaaf's "Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies". The piece is unsigned but was identified by Dr. Schaaf as being created by Tomasita Reyes Montoya. It measures 2 inches high by 9 inches wide. Your price $625 ~ Item #MP239 Click here to see enlargements. SOLD

San Juan Pueblo has become Ohkay Owingeh (pronounced O-keh o-WEENG-eh) which translates to “Place of the Strong People.” San Juan Pueblo is no more. The pueblo's tribal council restored the community's traditional name in September 2005. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has instructed all state agencies to refer to the pueblo by its new name. The new name is the traditional Pueblo name for the village, used before the Spanish arrived 400 years ago.

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How to make a Purchase

Ralph Aragon is of the San Felipe and Laguna Pueblos and married into the Zuni Pueblo. He has been an active potter since 1967 working with contemporary polychrome pottery.

At right, top, is one of our favorite Ralph Aragon styles with the slanted black opening and heavy twine coiling. Beautiful colors and innovative art work. This pot measures 9 inches tall by 5.5 inches wide. Your price $455 ~ Item #MP208. Click here to see an enlargement. SOLD

Ralph attended the Institute of American Indian Arts and was taught pottery by Candelaria Gachupin. He has won many awards(including 1st) at the New Mexico State Fair, the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial, the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show, the Indian Market at Santa Fe and the Heard Museum show in Phoenix. He has also had many private gallery shows. Ralph's favorite graphic elements are Kokopelli, rock art figures, hand prints, corn plants, antelope, rainbows, rain and speckled backgrounds. These are beautiful polychrome pots with excellent shape, color and graphics that includes primitive animals, bright flowers and and an effective patina that serves as an accent to the other images.

Ralph has been published in "Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni" by Hayes & Blom; Gregory Schaaf's "Southern Pueblo Pottery Artist Biographies", Berger & Schiffer's "Pueblo & Navajo Contemporary Pottery" and other related publications.

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