rain god figure

unrecorded Tetsuge Owingeh (Tesuque) artist, artist

rain god figure, late 1800s

Where object was made: Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico Territory (present-day New Mexico), United States

Material/technique: mica; ceramic

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 27 x 14 x 26.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 10 5/8 x 5 1/2 x 10 7/16 in

Credit line: Gift of James K. Allen

Accession number: 2007.2744

Not on display

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Label texts

Tesuque Pueblo potters responded to tourist demands for “gods” by creating a uniquely non-traditional product-The Tesuque Rain God. This figure has no relationship to Pueblo religion and was created strictly to meet a perceived market demand by an enterprising group of Tesuque potters.

This practice raised the ire of a William Henry Holmes, a prominent anthropologist, who in 1889 complained of the new innovation. According to author Duane Anderson, Holmes “blamed ‘a very vulgar element of the white population’ for encouraging the Indians to produce ‘rudely made,’ often ‘semi-obscene’ clay figures. According to Holmes, the ‘mica-coated figurines’ were ‘entirely vicious’ and represented a ‘debasement’ of ‘the refined and artistic wares’ of the ancient Pueblos.” (2002)

Exhibition Label:
"Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jul-2011, Nancy Mahaney
Tesuque Pueblo potters responded to tourist demands for “gods” by creating a uniquely non-traditional product-The Tesuque Rain God. This figure has no relationship to Pueblo religion and was created strictly to meet a perceived market demand by an enterprising group of Tesuque potters.

This practice raised the ire of a William Henry Holmes, a prominentanthropologist, who in 1889 complained of the new innovation. According to author Duane Anderson, Holmes
“blamed ‘a very vulgar element of the white population’ for encouraging the Indians to produce ‘rudely made,’ often ‘semi-obscene’ clay figures. According to Holmes, the ‘mica-coated figurines’ were ‘entirely vicious’ and represented a ‘debasement’ of ‘the refined and artistic wares’ of the ancient Pueblos.” (2002)