A street scene from a Hopi village, circa 1921. Photograph courtesy of Harmon Percy Marble

Skilled in a variety of art forms, the Hopi people of Northern Arizona are renowned for crafting decorative pottery, baskets and carvings. Perhaps not as well-known, but no less intriguing, are the fired clay tiles they have been producing since the late 19th century. Embellished with natural pigment paints, the tiles feature motifs ranging from kachina figures and geometric designs to birds, insects and weather elements. They quickly became popular souvenirs for tourists visiting the Southwest. Today, the tiles are sought-after collectors’ items that are celebrated for both their beauty and craftsmanship.

To learn about the tiles’ history and artistry, and to gather examples to pre-sent on the following pages, we consulted with collectors Kim and Pat Messier, authors of Hopi & Pueblo Tiles: An Illustrated History (Rio Nuevo Publishers); Heard Museum curator Diana Pardue; and John C. Hill, owner of John C. Hill Antique Indian Art Gallery in Scottsdale.

FRED HARVEY CO.
The Fred Harvey Co., which—starting in the late 1800s—owned hotels, restaurants and shops along the Santa Fe Railroad, played an important role in the history of Hopi tiles. To promote Southwest travel, the firm bought ceramics from reservation traders to sell as souvenirs, say Kim and Pat Messier. “The tiles were small items that were easy to transport,” offers Diana Pardue. She adds that trading and tourism triggered a transition for Hopis—they started selling their wares rather than making them for personal use.

According to Pardue, the Heard Museum has about 37 Hopi tiles in its Fred Harvey Co. Collection; two of them are pictured here.