Poeh Museum
We headed off with Seamus this morning giving Jan a bit of alone time.
The Pojoaque’s Tribal Council runs the Poeh Museum.
Its mission is to preserve and revitalize the culture of the Peublo communities in the northern Rio Grande valley.
The permanent exhibition gives an overview of Pueblo history. It is called Nah Poeh Meng which translated from Tewa means “The Continuous Path. The walk through dioramas in the six rooms center around a seasonal themes.
Their special exhibit was entitled Juxtaposition had traditional pottery next to hand blown glass “pots” that were based on the older designs but clearly presented a new artistic vision.
After dropping Seamus off at Cardiac Rehab we headed for the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Their current exhibit was on the Thunderbird Jewelry of the Santo Domingo Pueblo. The pueblo artisans made necklaces with Thunderbird pendants. Their traditional materials were Turquoise, Jet and Coral. When these materials were no longer available locally they began using plastics to replace the Turquoise blue and Red Coral and cut up phonograph records or used black car battery cases to replace the black Jet. Today collectors seek after these pieces.
I just checked out one for sale on ebay where it is quite clearly listed as a Battery case Santo Domingo Thunderbird Necklace.
The Pojoaque’s Tribal Council runs the Poeh Museum.
Its mission is to preserve and revitalize the culture of the Peublo communities in the northern Rio Grande valley.
The permanent exhibition gives an overview of Pueblo history. It is called Nah Poeh Meng which translated from Tewa means “The Continuous Path. The walk through dioramas in the six rooms center around a seasonal themes.
Their special exhibit was entitled Juxtaposition had traditional pottery next to hand blown glass “pots” that were based on the older designs but clearly presented a new artistic vision.
After dropping Seamus off at Cardiac Rehab we headed for the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Their current exhibit was on the Thunderbird Jewelry of the Santo Domingo Pueblo. The pueblo artisans made necklaces with Thunderbird pendants. Their traditional materials were Turquoise, Jet and Coral. When these materials were no longer available locally they began using plastics to replace the Turquoise blue and Red Coral and cut up phonograph records or used black car battery cases to replace the black Jet. Today collectors seek after these pieces.
I just checked out one for sale on ebay where it is quite clearly listed as a Battery case Santo Domingo Thunderbird Necklace.
Poeh Museum pictures (placeholder)
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
After dropping Seamus off at Cardiac Rehab we headed for the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. We were greeted by a very welcoming docent who introduced us to their exhibit. Usually when you enter a museum you are greeted by someone who controls access to the museum. In this situation (and I suspect it was a unique talent of the particular person we happened to coincide with) we felt that she truly enjoyed the museum and wanted us to enjoy it just as much as she. Not only did we discuss the exhibit, but also her life in Santa Fe, her involvement in an interesting living community where people of all ages and stages of life (parents, families, kids, grandparents, etc.) shared the responsibilities of living in community.
Thunderbird necklace (Zuni)
Their current exhibit was on the Thunderbird Jewelry of the Santo Domingo Pueblo. The pueblo artisans made necklaces with Thunderbird pendants. There were hundreds of these necklaces so you could see differences between artisans, over time, using different materials. Their traditional materials were Turquoise, Jet and Coral. When these materials were no longer available locally they began using plastics to replace the Turquoise blue and Red Coral and cut up phonograph records or used black car battery cases to replace the black Jet. Today collectors seek after these pieces. Later in our trip, we saw similar types of necklaces -- mostly of the type that were crafted after the traditional materials became unavailable. One of these we saw at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff is shown in the illustration to the left.
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