This is an unusual canteen by Shirley Benn.  Shirley is a daughter of Daisy Hooee, a granddaughter of Annie Nampeyo Healing, and a great-granddaughter of Nampeyo of Hano.  She learned to make pottery from her mother.  This is a tall canteen that is coil-built and thin walled.  The canteen is fully polished and has a bird and bird tail painted on one side with bee-weed (black) and clay slips.  It has a round shape and a flared rim. The entire piece is fully polished.  The canteen has handles that are also polished.  It was traditionally fired to create light blushes on the surface.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is signed on the bottom, “Shirley Benn Nampeyo”.   Definitely a piece of history!