Hopi-Tewa Large Pottery Jar with a Design of Feathers by Steve Lucas [SOLD]

This Hopi-Tewa pottery jar by award-winning artist Steve Lucas follows the Nampeyo tradition more closely than his contemporary works. This jar was made in 1998 at the time when Lucas was developing his independence yet still following tradition in design. The jar has a fan of feathers displayed around the rim and flowing over the shoulder of the jar. Each feather is wide, outlined in dark brown pigment and filled with stippling. It's a beautiful design in layout, artistry, and tradition. The lower body is covered in a rich red slip that was beautifully polished. The firing was perfect.

Steve Lucas (1955-) is recognized as one of the finest of the younger generation Nampeyo family potters.  He is the grandson of Rachel Namingha Nampeyo and the great-grandson of Annie Healing Nampeyo. His mother was Eleanor Lucas.  We do not have an exact date of birth, but he is reported by various sources to have been born around 1955. His Hopi-Tewa name is Koyemsi—the Hopi-Tewa name for the Mudhead Katsina. 

Lucas has been a consistent award-winning artist at Santa Fe Indian Market and Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial among others. His awards include First and Second Place at the 1994 Santa Fe Indian Market; First, Second and Third Place at the 1995 Indian Market; Best of Division at the Heard Museum in 1997; Best of Show in the 1998 Santa Fe Indian Market.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: from a collection of contemporary pottery of a family from New Jersey

Recommended Reading: Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Reference: Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500 Artist Biographies, by Gregory Schaaf.

Relative Links: Annie Healing Nampeyo, Hopi, Southwest Indian Pottery, Katsina, Contemporary Pottery, Steve Lucas, Nampeyo of Hano, Rachel Namingha Nampeyo