Project Description

In the mid-twentieth century, Elva Nampeyo created this clay bowl. Nampeyo is from the Hopi tribe and the bowl is crafted in a traditional style that embraces pre-Hopi cultures. It is a white clay bowl with a wide shoulder, narrowing at the base and neck. The shoulder is red, with a band of white and white painted wave designs. Below this is a pattern of red and brown shapes, adding depth to the piece. This pottery design dates back about 500 years, to the Sikyakti Hopi. Elva Nampeyo’s grandmother, simply known by the mononym Nampeyo, got her inspiration from Hopi archaeological sites like Sikyakti and brought their designs into the modern world. When Nampeyo was a young girl, she would spend time watching her grandmother create pottery. As she grew older, she picked up the skills and followed the family tradition. Many of her pieces, this bowl included, are stylistically similar to the work of her mother and grandmother and give a nod to the long traditions of the Hopi people.

-Charla Hamilton, Class of 2015

Object Details

Elva Nampeyo, 1926-1985
20th cen.
2006.04.64
4 1/4" x 6"; Mouth: 2 3/4"
Ceramics
From the estate of Ruth Yoakum, 2006