Shupla, Helen - Black Melon Bowl with 17 Ribs (1970's)
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Shupla, Helen – Black Melon Bowl with 17 Ribs (1970’s)

6"w x 4"h

$ 2,000.00

Helen Shupla is certainly most famous for her exceptional melon jars.  Her melon jars are the very traditional form with the ribs pushed out in the clay.  This melon bowl is one of her classic shapes with the round body and 17 ribs pushed out into the clay.  She would do this by placing her fingers inside the bowl and pushing against the clay from both the inside and outside!  Can you see the slight angle to each section?  This is how she would turn her hand as she was pushing against the clay to create the separate ribs!  The entire piece is fully polished and fired a glassy black.  The symmetry and deep coloration on this piece is exceptional in person!  It is signed on the bottom, “Helen Shupla”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

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Brand:Shupla, Helen (1918-1985)

Helen Shupla is certainly most famous for her exceptional melon jars.  Her melon jars are the very traditional form with the ribs pushed out in the clay.  This melon jar is one of her classic shapes with the round body and the slight neck.  The neck was a later development in her pottery forms.  Each of the 17 ribs are pushed out into the clay.  She would do this by placing her fingers inside the bowl and pushing against the clay from both the inside and outside!  Can you see the slight angle to each section?  This is how she would turn her hand as she was pushing against the clay to create the separate ribs!  The entire piece is fully polished and fired black.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

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Shupla, Helen (1918-1985)

Helen Shupla

Helen Shupla (1918-1985) is one of the few potters whose name has become synonymous with a particular pottery style; 'the melon bowl.' The ribs on her pieces are pushed out from the inside when the clay is wet. That is why there is often a slight turn to the ribs, as they are turned when she would twist her hand against the inside of the clay. As they are based on a natural form, they tend to have a very organic appearance. Helen crafted her pottery in the traditional manner of harvesting local clay, hand coiling, shaping, sanding, and polishing with a stone.  Helen used traditional methods of firing her works in an open fire.  You can find her work in museums such as the Heard Museum and the Denver Art Museum. She was also featured on the front cover of "Talking with the Clay." We have revised her birth year based on the 1930 Indian Census (when she was 12 years old).
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