TESUQUE POLYCHROME RAIN GOD SET collected 1912

This was a classic crowd-pleaser. A kitsch turn-of-the-century postcard featured the "Three Wise Monkeys" in their see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil posture. It was a short step to apply the joke to rain gods, and it speaks volumes about how everybody respected the sacred nature of these idols, which were sold at $6.50 per barrel back in the day. This set was made like most rain gods during the 1905–1915 period: unfired, quickly formed and decorated in pale blue and orange inks, now largely faded. They have a provenance of sorts. We bought them back in 1995 at the White Hogan in Scottsdale, and they came wrapped in a 1912 newspaper. These Three Wise Rain Gods appear on page 179 of the Second Edition of our Southwestern Pottery, Anasazi to Zuni and also in the First Edition.

H-501, See-No-Evil, 2-3/4" wide by 3-7/8" deep x 6-1/2" high

H-502, Speak-No-Evil, 2-1/2" wide by 3-3/4" deep x 6-5/8" high

H-503, Hear-No-Evil, 3-1/8" wide by 3-1/2" deep x 6-5/8" high

As is normal for 100-year-old unfired pieces, one of these suffered minor breakage.

Speak-No-Evil has a repaired arm.

H-501, H-502 and H-503   SOLD