Large Low Seed Jar by Grace Chapella [R]

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 large seed jar is decorated with traditional Sikyatki moth or butterfly designs, for which she became most famous.  Additionally, she added other identifiable features, one of which is the black outlined stepped designs that represent fields with the parallel fine lines that represent rain. 

Grace Chapella was a neighbor of Nampeyo of Hano, who was 14 years her senior, and credits Nampeyo with teaching her the techniques of pottery making.

The butterfly or moth is now considered as belonging to the Chapella family.  Her daughter Alma Tahbo, granddaughter Deanna Tahbo, and great-grandson Mark Tahbo have continued to use it on their pottery.

The signature has been obliterated but the moths/butterflies are certainly the work of Grace Chapella.

Condition:  This jar is structurally in very good condition.  There are a few scratches here and there and some abrasion to painted areas, but nothing of great significance.  It is a major work of this artist.

Provenance: from the collection of a family from Colorado Springs, Colorado

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