Hopi-Tewa Very Large Pottery Seed Jar by Hisi Nampeyo [SOLD]

This large polychrome pottery jar by Hisi Nampeyo of Hopi Pueblo has a beautiful rounded vessel shape. There are no sharp edges, just nice curves from the base to the rim. The design is a very traditional one from the Sikyatki prehistoric ancestors of the Hopi which was revived in the late 1800s by Nampeyo of Hano and has continued in use by her descendants. It has been referred to as an eagle tail design. With its use, it is traditional to surround the opening of the jar with a square from which the four eagle tail designs are attached. The interior of the box was highlighted with red arches on each of the four legs of the square. Beautifully executed scrolls are adjacent to the eagle tail elements.

Camille Quotskuyva Hisi Nampeyo was born in 1964.  “Hisi” is her Hopi-Tewa name given to her when she was a baby during the traditional naming ceremony. Most collectors know her as Hisi rather than as Camille. Her mother is Dextra Quotskuyva and her brother is Dan Namingha. This is a phenomenal family of artists.  

The jar is signed Hisi Nampeyo, has her corn hallmark and is dated 3-04.

Photo of Hisi Nampeyo courtesy of Rick Dillingham, Fourteen Families In Pueblo Pottery.

Condition: this Hopi-Tewa Very Large Pottery Seed Jar by Hisi Nampeyo is in original condition

Provenance: from an extensive pottery collection of a gentleman from Northern New Mexico

Recommended Reading: Painted Perfection: The Pottery of Dextra Quotskuyva by Martha Struever

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Hisi Nampeyo, Hopi Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery