Large Sikyatki-style Four-Color Pictorial Polychrome Bowl [R]

Michael Hawley, of Scottsdale, Arizona, is the only living potter today creating true Sikyatki Polychrome pottery vessels in the same manner as they were originally made from the 14^th through the 17^th centuries. Hawley calls this pottery“Chakoptewa Polychrome,” Chakoptewa being his adopted Hopi name.

Hawley uses only hand-ground clay dug on Antelope Mesa on the Hopi Reservation and he hand coils, shapes, polishes, paints and coal fires each of these pots in a firing pit he constructs himself. All of his pigments are made by hand from minerals and plants indigenous to the Hopi Mesas and each of his painted designs is original and within the Sikyatki design tradition.

Mike Hawley’s pieces are original and unique pieces of contemporary ceramic art inspired by ancient tradition. They are not copies or replicas.

This bowl features a rim that rolls outward and is finished in a piecrust style at its edge. The interior design features a Sikyatki-style hummingbird drinking from a flower. The bowl is dated 1988 and signed Chakoptewa. It is in excellent condition.