Hopi Tewa Polychrome Jar by Rondina Huma [SOLD]

Rondina Huma walked away with awards from the 1996 Santa Fe Indian Market.  One of her pieces was awarded "Best of Show," "Best of Division," and "Best Traditional Pottery."  She is recognized for her intricate designs, incorporating hundreds of small elements. Her burnishing is exceptional and her painting of designs remarkable.

Rondina has been one of the most sought after Hopi Pueblo potters for over a decade now. She has been featured in many publications and her work is represented in major galleries and museums throughout the country. There is no mystery as to why she has won many awards over the years for her exquisite work. She deserves every accolade bestowed on her. Her pottery is traditional in every manner. She always hand coiled all her vessels and used only vegetal and mineral paints. Traditional firing was carried out as well.

It is our understanding that Rondina is no longer able to produce pottery because of failing eyesight restrictions.  

This jar has designs placed in small boxes and each design is a section of a design from the Sikyatki prehistoric wares, ancestral to the Hopi.  An element might be a single hook, fret, steps, fine lines or any other item of traditional design. Most of the body design elements were painted in brown pigment and a few in orange slip.  The series around the rim is a repetition of a single design of simple boxes filled with black speckling enclosed in an orange border.

Below the rim design is a series of eight black fine lines encircling the body and which are overlaid by a chain of up and down triangles.  The main body design is composed of small and intricate singular elements criss crossed throughout with fine lines overlaid with triangles.

Rondina did a magnificent job of building this hand-coiled jar and placing an intricate design over the entire stone-polished surface.  The underside is signed Rondina Huma Polacca, Az Tewa.

Condition: this Hopi Tewa Polychrome Jar by Rondina Huma is in excellent condition.  A single minor hairline crack has been stabilized.

Provenance: from the collection of a client from Texas

Recommended Reading: Designs on Prehistoric Hopi Pottery by Jesse Walter Fewkes