Seed Jar

Label

Nampeyo of Hano learned to make pottery from her grandmother as a teenager. Inspired by the designs and forms in early Hopi pottery, Nampeyo visited the ruins of her ancestors’ villages in search of motifs that she could reproduce in her own work. Steve Lucas—Nampeyo’s great-great-grandson—coils, polishes, paints, and fires his pottery in accordance with the techniques passed down to him by his grandmothers and aunt, while producing innovative forms. Together, these works show the continuity of techniques, as well as the evolution of form and design, over generations.

From the 2022 exhibition Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, curated by Dillen Peace '19, Native American Art Intern and Sháńdíín Brown '20, Native American Art Intern 

| Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa), one of the most well-known potters of the 20th century, was taught to make utilitarian pottery in the Tewa style by her mother. She learned Hopi decorated-pottery practices from her husband. Drawing on both traditions and working closely with her daughters and granddaughters, whose pottery is also included in this case, Nampeyo created work that has inspired generations of artistic production within her family. On the wall just beyond this case hangs a painting by her great-grandson, Dan Namingha. Notice how the fine linework and shapes from these historic clay forms continue to influence contemporary artistic production more than a century later.

From the 2025 exhibition Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, curated by John Stomberg, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961 Director; Jami Powell, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art; and Amelia Kahl, Barbara C. and Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programing

| Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa), one of the most well-known potters of the 20th century, was taught to make utilitarian pottery in the Tewa style by her mother. She learned Hopi decorated-pottery practices from her husband. Drawing on both traditions and working closely with her daughters and granddaughters, whose pottery is also included in this case, Nampeyo created work that has inspired generations of artistic production within her family. On the wall just beyond this case hangs a painting by her great-grandson, Dan Namingha. Notice how the fine linework and shapes from these historic clay forms continue to influence contemporary artistic production more than a century later.

From the 2025 exhibition Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, curated by John Stomberg, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961 Director; Jami Powell, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art; and Amelia Kahl, Barbara C. and Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programing

Course History

ANTH 11/NAS 11, Ancient Native Americans, Deb Nichols, Winter 2019

ANTH 11, NAS 11, Ancient Native Americans, Nathaniel Kitchel, Fall 2019

NAS 30.21, Native American Art and Material, Jami Powell, Spring 2021

ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022

Writing Program 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Writing Program 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Art History 40.02, The American Century, Mary Coffey, Spring 2025

Native American and Indigenous Studies 30.21, Native American Art and Material, Jami Powell, Spring 2025

Art History 40.02, The American Century, Mary Coffey, Spring 2025

Exhibition History

Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 26,2025.

Native American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 8, 2011-March 12, 2012.

One with the Earth: The testimony of Native American Art, Rivier College Art Gallery, Nashua, New Hampshire, October 18, 1992-November 24, 1992.

Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 2022-March 12, 2023.

Publication History

[Tamara Northern], "Native American Art". Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, page 41, 1985. (Published in conjunction with Gutman Gallery opening exhibition)

George P. Horse Capture, Sr., Joe D. Horse Capture, Joseph M. Sanchez, et al., Native American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2011, ill. on p. 11 and 100 and p. 153, no. 70.

Provenance

Collected by George H. Browne (1857-1931) and Emily Robbins Webster Browne (1861-1942), Cambridge, Massachusetts; given (by Miss Ellen A. Webster, Mrs. Browne's sister) to present collection, 1942.

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Subjects