Pottery of the Southwest: Ancient Art and Modern Traditions (Shire Library USA, 640)

For almost two thousand years, the pottery made by the Indians of America's Southwest has remained a vital art. Today, more than twenty Pueblos and tribes make pottery within the tradition, each with a distinctive style. Many of those local styles have persisted for hundreds of years. In prehistory, beautiful pieces had high trade value, and the finest contemporary pieces command prices appropriate to fine art of any type. Potters like Nampeyo, Maria Martinez and Juan Quezada achieved worldwide fame. Yet despite its history and the skill of its artists, Southwestern Indian pottery remains surprisingly easy to collect. This book introduces the art from its beginnings to the present and displays examples that describe how America's first important art form grew into one of the world's most accessible treasures.