Take special note of this
rare and unusually large pottery by Nampeyo family matriarch,
Tonita Hamilton Nampeyo.
Her many years of experience
and the close connection she had to her mother (Fannie) and grandmother
(Nampeyo) are showcased in this masterpiece. In true Nampeyo
form, Tonita has brought out the broad shoulders of this elegant
vase. The lip is subtle and refined, while the foot or pedestal
upon which it rests is only a few inches in diameter.
And her lines.... her lines
are as smooth and as straight as ever!
In the footsteps of her forebears,
Tonita stays true to her traditional roots, preferring to do
everything the "old way." Her clay is still dug from
deposits near her home. She still hand-coils and hand polishes
every piece she does. Tonita remains loyal to many of the original
Sikyatki ruins designs, as can be seen here in this beautiful
vase.
The traditional "migration
pattern" design appears around the entire vase. The rich
orange and brown colors are achieved through a traditional process
of pigmentation where natural vegetal and mineral dyes are used.
Tonita has traditionally fired this piece as well - as can be
seen in the subtle shifts in color around the base of the pot.
Tonita is world-renown and
appears in nearly every publication dealing with Hopi pottery.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the
globe, and she has shown and placed at nearly every major venue
throughout the Southwest.
Her work appears in Fourteen
Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham, The Art
of the Hopi by Jerry Jacka, and Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500
Artists Biographies by Gregory Schaff as well as others.
