Hopi Cylindrical Jar with Butterfly or Moth Designs [SOLD]

Grace Chapella was born in the Tewa village of Hano at First Mesa on the Hopi Reservation in 1874, eight years before the Reservation was established as such, and before Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  She witnessed the first "horseless carriage" arrive on the Reservation and recalled how frightening it was.  In 1927, she became the first person from the Hopi Reservation to fly in an airplane, going from Grand Canyon to Long Beach for a pottery demonstration.

Grace Chapella lived for over a century—she passed away at age 107—Chapella (pronounced Tsepela) witnessed many changes in her life on the Hopi mesa where she lived.  She was a youngster at a time before trading posts and tourists were introduced to the reservation and lived to see both flourish and the demand for pottery grow at leaps and bounds.  Although her pottery, and that of others at First Mesa, is referred to as Hopi pottery, technically it is Hopi-Tewa pottery as the residents of Hano Village at First Mesa are of Tewa clans.

This cylindrical jar is attributed to the hands of Grace Chapella based on Mark Tahbo, her great grandson’s description of the faces of her moths.  Mark said that she divided the face into four quadrants, which indicates a male. A face with three vertical and three horizontal lines that cross is a female.  The two moths on this cylinder are male.

This jar was made in the traditional manner.  The form was made from coils of clay and the designs were painted on with natural pigments.  The jar was fired in an outdoor firing as attested to by the fire clouds. 

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: from a gentleman from Colorado

Recommended Reading:  Hopi Traditions in Pottery and Painting Honoring Grace Chapella, Potter, Masters Gallery, Alhambra, CA, February 25-April 3, 1977