inventory of cabot's pueblo museum pottery
DESCRIPTION
This is an invetory of Native American Pottery from Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs, 2008. The collection has since been professionally appraised and cataloged.TRANSCRIPT
- Photographed / compiled by Jane Pojawa
Ceramics Inventory for
Cabot’s Pueblo MuseumJanuary 2008
Ceramics Inventory for
Cabot’s Pueblo MuseumJanuary 2008
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About the collection:
Cabot Yerxa collected these pieces from 1920 - 1959. Some were gifts from Native American friends, others were purchased. It is probable that several of the pieces are considerably older than 1920. Yerxa’s affinity for Puebloan ceramics was considerable; he made repeated visits through the Southwest and patterned his home after the pueblos he visited there including Taos and Acoma in New Mexico.
In 1925, at the conclusion of his art studies in Europe, Yerxa took a cruise through Mex-ico, Cuba and Panama. He collected the figurines, which may date from pre-Columbian contact, at that time.
At Miracle Hill, he discovered both red and blue clay, which he used to make his own ceramics. Although the quality of his pieces has a certain naive charm, it was his incor-poration of the clay into the adobe blocks from which he made his home that showed his craftsmanship to advantage.
Provenance of the ceramics is based on physical characteristics and an inventory list compiled by Cole Eyraud. It is likely that the collection has dwindled since Yerxa’s death in 1965. This inventory is an attempt to catalog the collection and to establish
the history of these unique works of art. All of the pieces are
hand-built and demon-strate authentic
native ceramic techniques.
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Description Suggested Provinance
Artifact
Polychrome bowl
Polychrome bowl and ladle. Not a matched
set although displayed together.
Zia Pueblo
Polychrome bowl, olla shape. Late Acoma
Polychrome bowl Zia Pueblo
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Artifact Suggested Provinance
Description
Acoma Pueblo Polychrome bowl
Acoma Pueblo Black-on-White bowl
Acoma Pueblo Black-on-White ladle
Acoma Pueblo Black-on-White bowl, olla style
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Description Suggested Provinance
Artifact
Black-on-White bowl Acoma Pueblo
Chaco Black-on-White
1075 - 1150 ce Late Pueblo II
Chaco Canyon
Black Ware bowl Santa Clara Pueblo
Black Ware pitcher Santa Clara Pueblo
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Artifact Suggested Provinance
Description
Hopi bowl
d
Possibly Cabot Yerxa’s original
Red Ware bowl with lid
Possibly Cabot Yerxa’s original bowl
sphere; material not determined
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Description Suggested Provinance
Artifact
bowl with fluted brim Possibly Cabot Yerxa’s original
Red Ware bowl
Cahuilla
Large bowl
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Artifact Suggested Provinance
Description
Rattlesnake vase
d
Casas Grandes (Mexico) Brid effigy vase
Mexico figurine
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Description Suggested Provinance
Artifact
Figurine Mexico
Polychrome figurine Mexico
Arrow shaft straightener, basalt
Stone pipe
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Acoma
Chaco Canyon
Zia
Santa Clara
Cabot Yerxa in Santa Fe, August 1959.
Taos
Map of New Mexico’s Pueblos
A postcard sent from Cabot Yerxa to his wife Portia from Taos, New Mexico.
Cabot Yerxa visited the Southwest many times between 1920 and 1959. He admired the culture of the Pueblo Indians and strove to emulate their craftsmanship