If you have pictures of Catawba Indian Pottery you would like to share with us, we would be glad to post them on our site. Maybe you have a piece you would like to get identified just email us a picture and we will do our best to give you what we think the age and potter if we can.

What a way to start 2009!!!!!  We have new pieces from 2 of our Master Potters, Cheryl and Marcus Sanders!!! ONLY A COUPLE LEFT

Keith "Little Bear" Brown has just added 8 new pieces!!!!!

Come visit our new BLOG. You can get all the news about the Catawba Indian potters or give us your input on what you would like to see in the Blog. Just click here Catawba Indian Pottery Blog.

You need to visit the Catawba-People website. It is just full of all types of information of the Catawba Indians, both history and current news.

Catawba Indian Pottery

No one knows the true age of the Catawba Indian Pottery tradition. Among Native American potters’ arts it must be near the oldest in the Northern Hemisphere. Today, linguists declare that the Catawba Indians are aboriginal to the Carolinas. The oldest American Indian pottery tradition recorded in the United States is located in Coastal Carolina and Georgia. Archaeologists date this ancient Indian pottery from around 2,400 B.C. Since the Catawba were in the area, they either invented pottery making on their own or were exposed to pottery making very early. 

It is no wonder that the Catawba Indian Potters are so good at working in clay. They have been identified with clay for many centuries. Clay is the life blood of the Catawba Indian Nation. Without clay, there would be no Catawba Nation today. 

Here is a young Marcus getting lessons from his famous Grandmother Arzada Sanders.

The Catawba Nation began its decline from thousands of people who lived in an unknown number of villages and towns immediately on contact at the end of the 15^th century. At contact, the Catawba were strong and widely feared for their military prowess. This impression of power lasted long after the Catawba Indian Nation had dwindled from its Mississippi Culture grandeur back to the poverty of the Woodland Period. As the Catawba Indians suffered one setback after another, the Indians came to rely on the Catawba Indian Pottery tradition for their survival. 

The last time the Catawba fought as a tribal group in war was during the American Revolution. In the 19^th century, work for warriors became scare. The Catawba Indian Pottery became the major source of income. During this period, the potters began to cater to the pottery needs of non-Indians. The Catawba Indian Potters still do this, providing over 100 shapes of Native American Pottery eagerly sought by collectors. Such Indian pottery-seeking individuals seek the best Indian pottery examples possible. Museums seek to strengthen their holdings with only the finest Catawba Indian Pottery. 

The most sought after ancient forms include vessels such as the Catawba King Haigler / Indian Head pot; the Catawba snake pot that is graced with the sacred black snake long revered by the Catawba; the Indian cooking pot forms the basis for many other shapes, and when a deer hide is stretched over the mouth of this pot, it becomes the traditional pot drum; they love to produce fine Indian water jars; the Cupid Pot is of Spanish origin; the Peace Pipe has been used for treaties and for presentation pieces to political figures for centuries. Most of these vessels are of pre-Columbian origin and have formed the backbone of the Catawba Indian Pottery tradition for untold centuries. 

Around 1924, the Catawba Indian Potters began to make Native American pottery for the North Carolina Mountain Trade. They generally made small pieces, crude in workmanship, that attracted tourists. This market included people who visited the mountains and wanted to take something genuine home with them but had little money to spend. Shapes made popular during this period include bookends, small effigies, ashtrays, pencil holders, tooth pick holders, peace pipe, to name a few of the more popular shapes. The mountain trade also produced the famed Catawba Indian wedding jug adapted from the Pueblo tradition. The Catawba wedding jug has since become a favorite among collectors, and the Catawba Indian Potters produce them in every possible size. 

The American Indian Pottery website seeks to make the best of  Catawba pottery available to collectors at every level. Few people today can enjoy the very best collecting technique, rambling through the reservation from house to house seeking masterpieces made of Native American clay. The webmaster, himself a Catawba artisan, knows the 75 or so adult Catawba potters as both relatives and fellow tribal members. Contact between the webmaster and his pottery-making clients is constant. Two groups of individuals benefit from this activity. First, the potters who live in absolute obscurity are able to face a world-wide market. Second, Indian pottery collectors can watch this website and find pieces of the quality and the price they can afford and make purchases. 

Come and explore the Catawba Indian Potters website. Learn to know the best potters in the Catawba Indian Nation. Study their work over time through photographs, and enjoy a Native American Pottery tradition that is possibly the oldest Indian pottery tradition in North America. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the webmaster or me. We both enjoy talking about the beauty of Catawba Indian Pottery. 

Below are some reference books you may be interested in reading:

If you have any questions or special requests you can Email us by clicking here Catawba Indian Pottery.com

This site is not affiliated with the Catawba Indian Nation Executive Committee or the Catawba Indian Nation Cultural Preservation Committee.  

This site is privately owned by Master Potter Marcus Sanders.

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