Tile
Hopi Pueblo
1 of 2
Object Label
Ceramics have a long-standing tradition in the southwestern pueblos dating from 7500 B.C.E. to the present day. Originally all pottery production was for Native use, and specific shapes, designs, and colors can be attributed to specific pueblos. The Hopi—Pueblo people living in the southwestern United States—began making tiles for decoration in the nineteenth century. Their designs mirrored the abstracted motifs used on their pottery. By the early twentieth century, especially after the advent of the Santa Fe railroad in the 1870s, non-Native merchants and collectors passing through the region created a demand for portable Native tokens. Entrepreneurial Native potters made small bowls and decorative tiles using traditional Hopi and Pueblo designs to fulfill this commercial opportunity.
Caption
Hopi Pueblo. Tile, late 19th–early 20th century. Clay, slip, 3 3/8 × 3 in. (8.5 × 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1047.7. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Tile
Date
late 19th–early 20th century
Geography
Place made: First Mesa, Arizona, United States
Medium
Clay, slip
Classification
Dimensions
3 3/8 × 3 in. (8.5 × 7.6 cm)
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
X1047.7
Frequent Art Questions
What were these built for? How were they used?
These tiles reflect a long-standing tradition of ceramics in the southwestern pueblos dating from 7500 B.C.E. to the present day. Historically all pottery production was for Native use but the Hopi began making tiles for decoration in the 19th century, like the ones you see in that drawer.The designs on these tiles mirrored the abstracted motifs on their pottery. By the early 20th century, merchants and collectors passing through the region created a market for portable Native tokens. Small bowls and decorative tiles using traditional Hopi designs filled this market nicely.
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