Large Hopi Bowl with Checkerboard Design [SOLD]

C4034B-bowl.jpg

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Artist Unknown

The Hopi have lived on three mesas in northeastern Arizona for more than a thousand years. Today they live in separate villages on or below the three Mesas. The Hopi language is part of the Uto-Aztecan language group, one of the largest Native American language groups. They are one of few Native American tribes that reside exactly where they did when the Spanish arrived in the region in 1540.  

Pottery making at Hopi is a skill that has been passed down through generations. Known since the end of the 19th century for their fine pottery, Hopi and Hopi-Tewa potters are masters of using unique design elements to accentuate the beauty of an elegantly shaped pot or bowl. Along with pottery abstract bird feathers, sun and moon motifs and lines suggesting falling rain are other popular Hopi designs.

This large unsigned bowl was hand coiled and stone polished. The artist decorated only the interior. At the center of the bowl is a checkerboard design, believed to represent the planting fields. Surrounding this are semi-circle elements filled with fine lines, clouds conceivably representing rain, desperately needed for the crops. Blush-colored fire clouds are the only decoration on the outside of the bowl.


Condition: The Large Hopi Bowl with Checkerboard Design is in good condition. There are a minimal number of spalling marks around the rim.

Provenance: From a Colorado Collection

Recommended Reading: Canvas of Clay: Seven Centuries of Hopi Ceramic Art by Edwin L. Wade and Allan Cooke

The artist decorated only the interior. At the center of the bowl is a checkerboard design, believed to represent the planting fields. Surrounding this are semi-circle elements filled with fine lines, clouds conceivably representing rain, desperately needed for the crops.

Artist Unknown
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