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Komalestewa, Alton – Red 28 Straight Rib Melon Bowl
6.5"w x 4.5"h
$ 1,500.00
This is a highly polished melon bowl by Alton Komalestewa. It is the combination of color, form, and polish that makes it striking. Alton learned to make pottery from his mother-in-law, Helen Shupla. She was famous for her traditional melon bowls, and over the years, Alton has taken and refined this form with thinner walls and a highly polished surface. This bowl is thin-walled and highly stone-polished. As it was being made, each of the twenty-eight undulating ribs is pushed out from the inside. It is technically difficult to stretch the clay and create even ribs. Each rib is perfectly symmetrical, and looking inside the bowl, you can see the depth and precision of each rib! The bowl was fired to a dark red coloration. The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “A, Komalestewa” with his katsina face hallmark. The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.
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Description
This is a highly polished melon bowl by Alton Komalestewa. It is the combination of color, form, and polish that makes it striking. Alton learned to make pottery from his mother-in-law, Helen Shupla. She was famous for her traditional melon bowls, and over the years, Alton has taken and refined this form with thinner walls and a highly polished surface. This bowl is thin-walled and highly stone-polished. As it was being made, each of the twenty-eight undulating ribs is pushed out from the inside. It is technically difficult to stretch the clay and create even ribs. Each rib is perfectly symmetrical, and looking inside the bowl, you can see the depth and precision of each rib! The bowl was fired to a dark red coloration. The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “A, Komalestewa” with his katsina face hallmark. The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.
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Komalestewa, Alton (b.1959)
[caption id="attachment_55950" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Alton Komalestewa (Hopi-Tewa), Melon Jar[/caption]
Alton Komalestewa is a great grandson of Nampeyo of Hano through her son William Komalestewa (1893-1922). Alton learned to make pottery from Santa Clara potter Helen Shupla. She taught him how to make her classic style of melon bowls with the undulating ribs.
Alton Komalestewa (Hopi-Tewa), Melon Jar[/caption]
Alton Komalestewa is a great grandson of Nampeyo of Hano through her son William Komalestewa (1893-1922). Alton learned to make pottery from Santa Clara potter Helen Shupla. She taught him how to make her classic style of melon bowls with the undulating ribs.