Hopi Piki Bowl Attributed to Nampeyo [SOLD]

Polacca Polychrome typology pottery has been subdivided into time periods designated by alpha lettering.  Polacca C covers the period 1860 to 1890 and designs from this period are highly influenced by curvilinear spirals from Zuni Pueblo.  This large *piki bowl, attributed to Nampeyo of Hano, is an excellent example of Nampeyo using designs from Polacca wares.  The shape and construction of the bowl are typical of all bowls made for holding the liquid piki, but the designs in the base of the bowl are influenced by Polacca wares.

Who else was using these early designs but Nampeyo?  In the 1900 federal census, only Nampeyo and one other woman called themselves "potters." (Kramer, p.34). We know, according to Fewkes, that Nampeyo began to "cleverly imitate" Sikyatki ware as early as 1895. Based on this, the pieces she made with Polacca designs could be as early as 1890.

Indian trader Thomas Keam wrote of Nampeyo in his journals and acknowledged as early as the 1880s that she was the finest potter at Hopi, even though she was Tewa and not Hopi.  He acknowledged also that she was experimenting with the old pottery designs and creating beautiful pottery.  Keam encouraged her because he was in need of fine pottery to create collections for museums and individuals.  Nampeyo obliged him, not necessarily for the money, but because she was entranced with the shards being excavated at ancestral villages around the Hopi mesas and was eager to use them to create designs of her own.  They served as her influence and not something to be meticulously copied.

The large triangle in the center of this bowl perhaps represents Sipapu, the place of emergence, and from it are pendant the Zuni-influenced curvilinear spirals that are still evident today in Zuni pottery.  The combination of linear lines and curvilinear ones produces a bold statement and one which is captivating to the eye.  The bowl must be viewed in such a manner that the interior can be seen.

For more details on Nampeyo and her influence on Hopi pottery, check out the recently published book "Canvas of Clay," by Edwin L. Wade and Allan Cooke.

Condition:  It appears that the bowl has been broken into three large pieces that have been put back together and professionally restored to the original condition.  It is fortunate that this was done as there are few piki bowls of this magnificence and none documented photographically as to Nampeyo's hand.

Provenance: from a ranching family of Arizona

Referenced Source:  Nampeyo and Her Pottery by Barbara Kramer

*Note: Piki (or piki bread) is rolled bread made by the Hopi with nixtamalized corn meal. Blue corn and culinary ash give it a dark grayish-blue color. The light, thin sheets are dry to the point of brittleness and have a delicate corn flavor. It is considered the Hopi version of the tortilla.