Up for sale is a beautiful, highly detailed piece of mid-century Native American tourist trade pottery. This small-scale clay vessel is a classic example of "poster paint" pottery, traditionally produced by indigenous artists from the Jemez and Tesuque Pueblos of New Mexico between the 1950s and 1970s.Unlike traditional earth-pigment pottery, these unique collector pieces were hand-painted after firing using bright, matte commercial paints to achieve striking, high-contrast colors.

Detailed Design Elements:

Front Panels:
Features a traditional Southwestern stepped kiva/raincloud design in vibrant cobalt blue, balanced by an abstract, multi-colored geometric feather/bird wing motif on the right (yellow, orange, green, and blue).

Lower Panels:
Below the main blue step design sits a secondary jagged, stepped mountain motif in chocolate brown, bordered by a white scalloped line design along the bottom edge.

Accent Details:
Features subtle, unique pink/magenta speckled details inside the lower white triangular section, adding distinct character to the hand-painted work.

Dimensions:
Width: 9.5 cm (at widest point)Height: 8 cm

Overall Condition:
Very good vintage condition with exceptionally bright, punchy colors.

Surface:
As typical with aged, hand-coiled native clay and matte paint, there is light, fine hairline surface crazing/cracking visible upon close inspection in the white-slipped areas, alongside light natural texture from the hand-smoothing process. No major paint loss or structural chips.

Base: The unpainted clay base features a faint, handwritten vintage two-letter maker's mark (reads like "FP" or "FR").