I'm sure the potter had a reason for putting a hole in the middle of the body of this canteen, but I can only speculate her intent.  It is possibly a reference to the hole through which the Hopi entered this world and the previous underworld water available to them.  The canteen lays on its back to that the hole is pointing upwards, an indication of Sipapu, the point of emergence.

The canteen was formed in the traditional coil technique from native clay and slipped with vegetal paint and painted in the traditional manner.  Firing was with sheep dung, a popular way at Hopi.  It is traditional in every aspect except for the hole in the body of the vessel.

Setalla married into the Frog Woman/Feather Woman families. It was recently reported by her son that she is in ill health and has retired from making pottery.   She had 10 children, some of whom are potters carrying on her legacy.  She was raised on the village of Mishongovi on the Hopi Reservation.  She learned pottery production techniques from her mother-in-law, Agnes Navasie, and her sister-in-law, Eunice Navasie.

Condition:  minor abrasion of the brown paint, otherwise in original condition

Provenance: from the collection of Katherine H. Rust

Recommended Reading:  Hopi-Tewa Pottery 500 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf