Watercolor Paintings of Maricopa Pottery

Watercolor Paintings of Maricopa Pottery

Collection of watercolor paintings of Maricopa pottery from the Arizona State Museum's Smurthwaite Collection.

These 102 watercolor paintings depict Maricopa pottery from the Arizona State Museum's Smurthwaite Collection. The watercolor paintings were completed by unknown artists employed by the Works Progress Administration in 1939. The watercolors are on lightweight matboard. The pottery showcased in the paintings was purchased by the Arizona State Museum from Caroline Smurthwaite and Burridge D. Butler in March 1938.

The collection's subject matter, Maricopa pottery, is significant in that it expresses an important cultural and artistic tradition of the Maricopa people. The Maricopa Indians, or "Xalychidom Piipaash" (People who live toward the water), is made up of five small groups of Yuman language speakers who migrated from the lower Colorado River area to the Gila and Salt Rivers. Eastward migration of the Maricopa started as early as the fifteenth century and continued occasionally until the 1800s. By 1852 they settled among the Pima, established a relationship, and became allies. Today there are two main Maricopa settlements: the Gila River Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. (Click the links to see other materials from the communities.)

Each painting in the collection displays a different piece of pottery, each unique in size, style, and design. No two paintings, or pieces of pottery, are the same. Black-on-red, black-on-buff, and black-on-buff-and-red are the three most common types of pottery made by the Maricopa. Frequently used designs include the various bull's-eye patterns, triangular motifs, interlocking scrolls, and ticking lines. Pottery styles include bowls, pitchers, platters, and ollas in many shapes and sizes. Double spouted jars, effigy vessels, and long necked jars are unique to Maricopa pottery. This collection of watercolor paintings gives a comprehensive representation of Maricopa pottery from the Smurthwaite Collection.

The paintings in the collection were created during a time of great revival for Maricopa pottery. From 1937 to the early 1940s, Maricopa pottery rose in quality, production, and worth. The revival allowed the Maricopa potters to have an elevated economic status and to establish self-sufficiency. Today, Maricopa pottery has yet to see another revival. Maricopa pottery artists are not as plentiful as before; however, the craft is still a beautiful tradition and testament to the Maricopa Indian community. Additional resources to consult that deal with Maricopa and Southwestern pottery are: Dirt for Making Things: An Apprenticeship in Maricopa Pottery as told to Janet Stoeppelmann by Mary Fernald (1995); and Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni by Allan Hayes and John Blom (1996).

Items in Collection: 
Painting of a polychrome human effigy jar with beaded earrings
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a polychrome  pitcher with black-on-buff snake figure for handle
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red long-necked olla with handles on sides
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red bowl with raised canine figurine in interior center
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff bird figure bowl with scolls connected with bull's eyes
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff double-spouted jar with handle
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-and-red-on-buff bowl featuring human figures formed out of rim of pot
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Black-on-red cow figurine
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff bird figure bowl with a feather like pattern
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff human effigy jar with green beaded accents
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff bowl decorated with various animals
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red bowl with pedestal foot and wavy bands
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a polychrome jar with sun design
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff turtle figurine.jpg
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff jar with geometric bull's eye design
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red bowl with human figures on sides and on handle
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a polychrome platter with undulating rim
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red platter with scalloped edge
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red platter with interior decorated with abstract pattern
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red bowl with cross and black triangle pattern
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-and-buff-on-red platter with outside decorated with human faces
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-red-and-buff platter with interior decorated with wavy bands
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a black-on-buff platter with outside decorated with abstract cross pattern
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Painting of a polychrome platter with interior decorated with scrolls
Community
Photograph Collection, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Category
Pottery and Basketry