David, Irma – Bowl with Swirling Double Hummingbirds

Irma David is the sister of Hopi painter and katsina carver Neil David Sr.  She is from Polacca, at First Mesa. This bowl is coil built, stone polished, and painted with bee-weed and red clay slip.  The bowl has a swirling cloud and mountain pattern on the top.  On the sides are two sections, each with a swirling Sikyatki bird and hummingbird. There are a total of four birds.  Separating them are cloud, rain, and lightning designs.  The bowl is signed on the bottom, “Irma David”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.

“Did you know?  This design is usually called a “hummingbird” pattern. However, in reality, it is most likely the depiction of a hawk or “hummingbird” moth (Manduca quinquemaculata), which has a flexible proboscis.  The figure above the large eye represents the feathery antennae of the hawk moth.  The plant to the right is a datura on which the hawk moth feeds.”