Question | Answer |
Acoma | A New Mexican Pueblo, known for white pottery, most of which is painted with fine geometric lines; one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in North America. |
Anasazi | The Ancient Pueblo Indians of northern Arizona and New Mexico; sometimes referred to as the "Ancient Ones", believed to the ancestors of many of the Pueblo Indians. |
Avanu | A popular design (the water serpent) often seen in Native American art of the Southwest, particularly pottery, signifying the prayer for and representation of water, critical for life in the desert. |
Bear | A popular symbol in the Southwest art, often seen as a fetish, in weavings, on pottery, and in silverwork, sometimes with a 'heart-line', extending from the south to the center of the body. |
Bear Paw | An often used designed in a potter and silverwork; often if the artist is of the bear clan, or, more generally as a symbol of inner strength. |
Bezel | The part of the ring which holds the stone; vertical wall holding gemstone. |
Black on Black | A style of pottery developed about 1919 by Maria and Julian of San Ildefonso Pueblo. It is characterized by two shades of black -- one highly polished, and the other matte or dull. |
Burnishing | A process of producing polished, shiny surface by rubbing a smooth stone over the surface of pots or bowls after application of the slip. |
Chasing | A metal-smithing term; the process of moving metal to achieve line or form; a silversmith may have as many as 100 chasing tools, each to achieve a particular effect, unlike stamping, the tool moves laterally. |
Cochiti | A NM Pueblo, known for figurative clay work. |
Coil Method | A pottery term; the potter rolls a long rope of clay, which is coiled around on top of itself, forming a desired shape. In the coil-and-shape method, the walls of the pot are thinned, shaped, and smoothed by a scraping with a smooth tool. |
Concha | The Spanish term for shell; may be oval or round, frequently with scalloped edges, with or without stones; may appear in rings, pendants, bolos, buckles, and belts. Now most often a Navajo design for a belt. |
Corn | A powerful symbol in many tribes, used as a design in jewelry, pottery, and weavings as respect and a prayer for fertility and a good growing season; also used if the artist is a member of the corn clan. |