AL Qöyawayma Hopi Seed Jar with Raised Corn Designs [SOLD]

This pottery seed jar was made by Alfred H. Qöyawayma, or "Al Q." of Hopi Pueblo. Al Qöyawayma's works range from simple and unadorned to incredibly elaborate, but they're consistently beautiful regardless of the level of intricacy.

This piece is an elegant seed jar with a polished slip and four raised corn designs. Its soft, earthy orange tone is beautiful. Four raised corn designs extend vertically up and over the shoulder, ending about an inch below the rim. Qöyawayma's technical mastery is evident in the skillfully crafted corn designs, which appear to be almost identical. The jar has suffered some small scratches and abrasions over the years, but it remains beautiful.

The bottom of the jar is signed Qöyawayma and numbered 85-19-73.

Alfred H. Qöyawayma (1938- ) is one of the most accomplished contemporary Hopi artists. He entered the art scene around 1970 and is still actively creating. Qöyawayma attributes his pottery style to his aunt, the famous Hopi potter Elizabeth White (or "Polingaysi Qöyawayma''). It was she who started the all-natural clay pottery without slip and with the appliqué corn design. "Al Qöyawayma is a ceramic artist, potter, and bronze sculptor. He's also a thinker of great thoughts, a Fulbright Scholar, a co-founder of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, a featured artist at the Smithsonian's permanent Archives of American Art as well as a physicist, astronomer, anthropologist, engineer, and educator." (Indian Country Today)                              

Condition: abrasions to the slip appear, mostly around the top and rim.  Light abrasions and a few black spots appear on the corn designs.

Provenance: this AL Qöyawayma Hopi Seed Jar with Raised Corn Designs is from a private Colorado collection

Reference: The Mind-blowing Pottery of Hopi Artist Al Qoyawayma, Indian Country Today, Lee Allen

TAGS: Western Sculpture: Bronze, Contemporary Pottery, Hopi Pueblo, Elizabeth White - Polingaysi, AL Qöyawayma