Nampeyo, Gary Polacca – Kiva Top Jar Shalako Katsinas and Ladder (1990s)

This is an intricately carved jar by Gary Polacca Nampeyo.  He is known for his deeply carved pottery.   He is a son of Thomas Polacca,  a grandson of Fannie Nampeyo, and a great-grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. His sisters Carla Claw Nampeyo and Elvira Nampeyo are both potters.  His early pottery was polished red and then fully incised with designs and then he began carving pottery much like his father.  This jar has a round shape with a sculpted and incised top to resemble the entrance to a Kiva.  Around the sides are two large Shalako katsinas.  They are separated on one side by another older style Shalako (with three feathers) and a Hopi style Siyatki bird on the other.  The base is painted in the design of a mesa.  The jar is painted with bee-weed and clay slips to create various brown colorations that are meant to look like wood.  There is a wooden ladder that extends out of the bowl.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “G. Nampeyo”.   It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

Brand

Polacca Nampeyo, Gary (b. 1955)

Gary Polacca is a son of Thomas Polacca and a grandson of Fannie Nampeyo and great-grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. His sisters Carla Claw Nampeyo and Elvira Nampeyo are both potters. Gary continues in a similar style of carved pottery to that of his father. His pottery can be found in museums such as the Museum of Indian Art and Culture in Santa Fe, NM.