Rondina Huma Hopi Pictorial Bowl [SOLD]

This is an exquisite polychrome shallow bowl by Hopi-Tewa potter Rondina Huma (b. 1947), a member of the Kachina/Parrot clan from Polacca on First Mesa.

Based on the image of the face, this could be the Pash or the Pashi Katsina. Both of these are quite similar in appearance and in their functions.  In published documentation, both are illustrated with a commercial hoe as in the process of planting or tending crops.

The remaining two-thirds of the design is typical of Huma's early pottery prior to creating the micro-element motifs. Surrounding and composing the figure's garments are delicate, dense geometric linework, fine cross-hatching, and traditional designs with extraordinary stippling. Rondina Huma is world-renowned for pioneering micro-shard detailing, fitting hundreds of precise geometric elements into balanced compositions.

The rounded, incurved rim is framed with a continuous crescent geometric band on the exterior and a thick framing line on the interior lip. The bowl was constructed using traditional hand-coiling, native Hopi-Tewa clay, and polished completely to a smooth finish. The design was painted entirely using natural vegetal and mineral pigments, then traditional outdoor open-firing.

The bowl is hand-inscribed on the base in her typical script: Rondina Huma / Tewa / Polacca, Arizona.

Rondina Huma (1947- ) is a Hopi-Tewa potter who has lived in the village of Polacca since childhood. A member of the Tewa Kachina/Parrot clan, Huma produces her pottery in the traditional method. Her vessels are hand-coiled, painted with mineral paints, and fired outdoors. Her works are inspired by those of her ancestors, but are instantly recognizable as her own. Her complex and beautiful design work — painted with brushes fashioned from yucca leaves — has become as reliable an identifier as her signature itself. Self-taught and active since the early 1970s, Huma is one of the most celebrated contemporary Hopi potters. She is a two-time Best of Show winner at the prestigious Santa Fe Indian Market (1986 and 1996), a rare honor that established her as a master of the medium.

What is a Katsina?

Condition: very fine condition

Provenance: this Rondina Huma Hopi Pictorial Bowl is from the collection of a client from Vermont

Recommended Reading: Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Contemporary Pottery, Hopi Pueblo, Rondina Huma, Katsina