Hopi Four Color Large Jar with Parrot Designs [SOLD]

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Jean Sahme Nampeyo, Hopi-Tewa Pottery

Jean Sahme Nampeyo (1948 – ) Sak’Honsee - signature. The jar is signed with the Hopi-Tewa name of the potter—Sak’Honsee, a corn plant and a fish loop.The designs chosen by Jean Sahme Nampeyo (1948 - ) Sak'Honsee for this jar are from the prehistoric Sikyatki culture of Hopi. There are Sikyatki parrots, hands, cornfields and cornstalks.  The application of the design was precise with curves and straight lines unimaginably rendered. One must marvel at the talent required to apply designs using a primitive paint brush made from the leaf of a yucca plant and paints from mineral sources.  The sheep dung outdoor firing produced a warm orange glow to the finish of the jar, which adds such interest to the jar. The jar is signed with the Hopi-Tewa name of the potter—Sak’Honsee, a corn plant and a fish loop.

Jean is a daughter of Priscilla Namingha Nampeyo and the granddaughter of Rachel Namingha Nampeyo. Her great grandmother was Annie Healing Nampeyo, whose mother was Nampeyo of Hano.  Jean has seven siblings, all of whom are potters or Katsina doll carvers. Her brothers and sisters are Nyla Sahmie, Rachel Sahmie, Bonnie Chapella, Randy Sahmie, Andrew Sahmie, Foster Sahmie and Finkle Sahmie. Jean is the only member of the family who signs her name Sahme rather than Sahmie.

Image of Jean Sahme Nampeyo (1948 – ) Sak’Honsee courtesy of Rick Dillingham: Fourteen Families In Pueblo Pottery.Jean certainly inherited the artistic talent of her famous Nampeyo family.  In this very large jar, she chose to use pictorial elements rather than traditional Sikyatki patterns from prehistory, although the elements are of Sikyatki origin.  What appears to be painted lines on the black curved stalks are incised lines. Each of the parrots was very elaborately painted with beautiful flowing colorful feathers.  The visual success of this jar is its lack of crowding with design but the openness that allows each element to be appreciated individually.


Condition: this Hopi Four Color Large Jar with Parrot Designs is in excellent original condition with some abrasions on the underside

Provenance:  from the estate of Santa Fe collector and dealer Martha (Marti) Struever, who passed away in August 2017

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

Image of Jean Sahme Nampeyo (1948 – ) Sak’Honsee courtesy of Rick Dillingham: Fourteen Families In Pueblo Pottery.

Close up view of side panel designs.

Jean Sahme Nampeyo, Hopi-Tewa Pottery
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