Description

This large Hopi cylindrical vase is signed with a frog with stick toes, the hallmark of the first Frog Woman, Paqua Naha, who studied directly under Nampeyo and lived from around 1890 to 1955.

This traditional polychrome cylindrical jar was made shortly before Paqua Naha passed away in 1955.  It is quite a rare piece in that she used the white slip she had discovered during 1951-1952. There is a slight inward curve to the rim, and the exterior was stone polished and decorated with traditional Hopi symbols.  The design, an interpretation of Sikyatki birds with curved beaks, is divided into two panels separated by a series of parallel vertical lines.

Although there is no date on the bottom of the vase, her glyph is there, and we know the year she died. Old Frog Woman’s pottery is rarely available and certainly not in the shape of a cylinder.

Condition: The Hopi-Tewa Polychrome Bowl by Paqua Naha is in very good condition with minor rubbing of the paint and very little pitting: nothing unusual for a vessel of this age.

Provenance: Acquired from a private collector in Arizona.