$701.25
In stock
Fannie Nampeyo (Hopi, 1900-1987). Painted pottery canteen, n.d. Signed on verso. A delightful pottery canteen by a member of the famous Nampeyo family: Fannie Nampeyo, daughter of the grand matriarch of modern Hopi pottery Nampeyo of Hano. Well-formed, the petite vessel presents a domed body with a flattened verso and an attenuated, cylindrical spout flanked by a pair of vertical, loop handles. The convex side of the jar is adorned with black and red on beige decoration of intricate, abstract designs typical of Sikyatki revival pottery. Each handle is tied with a vegetal fiber suspension rope strung with 2 wooden beads. Size (without rope): 3″ L x 5.5″ W x 5.2″ H (7.6 cm x 14 cm x 13.2 cm)
Fannie Nampeyo Polacca was the youngest of Nampeyo of Hano’s three daughters. She was born in the Hopi-Tewa Corn Clan home atop First Mesa, on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Fannie was initially given the name Popongua or Popong-Mana (meaning “Picking Pinons”) by the older women of her father Lesou’s family, and either missionaries or health-care workers later gave her the name “Fannie.” The highest level of education Fannie Nampeyo completed was third grade. In the early 1920s she married her cousin, Vinton Polacca, going against tradition of marrying outside the Corn Clan. Shortly thereafter pottery making became an important part of Fannie’s life.
Fannie was a prolific potter from 1920 to 1987 and earned a reputation as an outstanding potter during her lifetime. Her styles included black and red on yellow and black on yellow in the form of jars, cups and saucers. She also made miniatures and bird effigy bowls. Among her favorite designs were clouds, rain, feathers, stars and migrations motifs. In addition to making pottery she also made quilts.
Fannie’s pottery won a first place blue ribbon in the “Hopi Show” at the Museum of Northern Arizona in July 1961, and her works have been included in collects by the University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Please note this item may fall under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and may not be eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.
Condition: Signed on verso. Some nicks and abrasions to surface as shown but otherwise intact and excellent with good preservation of painted imagery.
Provenance: private Reinsmoen collection, Clear Lake, Iowa, USA, acquired through descent from Robert Anderson, acquired prior to 2000
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