Hopi-Tewa Black and Red on White Pottery Jar by Frog Woman [SOLD]

This wonderful black and red on white pottery jar was created by Hopi-Tewa potter Joy Navasie.  Navasie is most commonly referred to by collectors as “second Frog Woman.” Her work with this jar is of her typically excellent quality.  The jar features a wide primary design band filled with intricate designs in black and maroon. These designs flow smoothly and naturally, combining with and complementing one another as they cross the jar’s surface diagonally. Bold lines frame the design band, and a pair of thin lines circle the jar’s neck.

While its polished slip and painted colors are outstanding, the jar’s shape is one of its strongest attributes.  From the side, it looks like a pueblo olla, but with curves that are a bit sharper and a tall neck. It’s symmetrical and consistent throughout, with just enough variation to remind the viewer that the jar was made lovingly and by hand. Navasie signed the bottom of the jar with her family’s frog design.  Navasie’s mother Paqua Naha signed with a similar frog, but hers had short straight toes instead of the webbed feet seen here.

Joy Navasie was born in 1919 on Hopi’s First Mesa. Navasie recalls that she began making pottery at the age of 17. She learned to make pottery from her mother, Paqua Naha, the first Frog Woman. Her distinctive decorative style is instantly recognizable, as she used a white slip on which she painted dark brown and rust color designs. Her skillful application of bird, water and sky elements around a perfectly formed pot was and still is unique.  She was a master at the craft. Navasie passed away in 2012.

Condition: this Hopi-Tewa Black and Red on White Pottery Jar by Frog Woman is in excellent condition

Provenance: private collection of a resident of Texas

Recommended Reading and Source Photo of Artist: Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham (1952-1994).

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Hopi Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery, Joy Navasie, Paqua Naha