Hopi Beautiful Large Polychrome Jar [SOLD]

Helen Naha was a Hopi-Tewa of the Spider Clan.  She was a self-taught potter who developed her own designs and styles primarily based on prehistoric pottery shards from the Awatowi ruins.

She and Joy Navasie (Frog Woman) were sisters-in-law.  Helen married Joy Navasie's brother, Archie Naha. Helen was known for her stark black-on-white Hopi pottery early in her career and for exquisite polychrome pots in later times. Her signature is comprised of a feather design.

Helen covered her pottery in white slip which was then polished.  The design was painted on using red clay and black mineral paints.  In this jar, she covered the underside, from the mid-point down to the base in a fine line design that was then layered over with longitude and latitude lines.  That section was framed with prehistoric birds connected in a continuous chain that was executed in red paint.  The beaks of the birds are black.

The upper section of the jar is mostly white with black design elements that appear to be rain and cloud influenced. The rim rolls out in a graceful curve and is void of rim paint. The design on the jar is striking from any angle of review.

Condition: excellent condition

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

Provenance: from a gentleman in Albuquerque