201128-44 Mohave effigy jar
ca. 1900
8" h x 5" x 5"
A dramatic work in Very Good, Original Condition
Slight wear at spouts as pictured.
In the late 19th century, Mohave potters began producing effigy vessels depicting traditional Mohave dress and self-decoration styles. These were sold to travelers at the train stations in Needles and Yuma, Arizona.
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“In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Mojave, or aha macav ("people who live along the river") continued a long tradition of pottery-making, adapting to the new Euro-American tourist market. Gathering clay along the Colorado River in Southern California, Mojave craftswomen formed ceramic utilitarian vessels, human and animal effigies, and dolls. While these forms continue an older ceramic tradition, Mojave potters began to generate new artistic styles while incorporating new materials, such as trade cloth and commercial paint.
Considered a woman's art, Mojave craftswomen traditionally made ceramics during the dry season in a location outside of the home. Utilitarian pots for storage, cooking, and eating were generally plain or decorated with simple geometric designs in yellow ocher which turned red in the firing process. The advent of the tourist trade brought adaptations to these wares, such as the addition of handles to the pots. Unlike utilitarian ceramics, Mojave effigies and dolls were painted brightly, and were modeled from un-fired clay, making the figurines quite fragile.
Mojave women produced both human and animal effigies, in both figural and vessel form. Craftswomen also created clay dolls to sell to tourists, emphasizing the head, eyes, and large feet of the dolls, which allowed the figures to stand unaided. Male and female dolls were dressed traditionally and painted with different tattoo patterns to represent their gender. Male dolls wear cloth breech clouts while female dolls appear in cloth skirts. Both wear beaded necklaces and earrings, and horsehair for hair”. (Source: Portland Art Museum)
About the collectors in the family:
I think my grandparents George & Anna Siemantel acquired the majority of the pieces. She loved the pottery. He rugs & jewelry. He had an auto dealership during the war and did a lot of trading in NM. He also was foreman for the railroad roundhouse in Las Vegas NM. (He was from Topeka KS and she from Ft. Madison IA) In addition, the two of them and my great uncle, Phillip Schlapp owned a ranch in NE NM. It is now the Elliot Barker Girl Scout Ranch at Angel Fire NM. Phillip & Anna were 2 of 7 siblings. One of the other sisters taught in Watrous NM. And she & her siblings traveled in the summer. I think a lot of the baskets were their acquisitions.
Also my mom & aunt Margaret knew Mabel Dodge Lujan & there was a connection to Frida Lawrence. But darn! I remember talk when I was a kid. Wish I'd had more of an idea of the interest. I remember my aunt's excitement sharing with my mom that Mabel had written to her.