Benn, Shirley Nampeyo – Bowl with Hummingird Moths and Bat Wings (1990s)
$ 800.00
This is a creative bowl 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 larger piece of her pottery. It is round and fully polished. The bowl has two different styles of hummingbird moths on the sides. They are separated by stylized bat wings. It is a very complex design and tightly painted. The moths are highlighted with red and brown clay, and there is even a section that is incised and slipped with white! The bat wings have small incised lines on the black. Note as well the stars surrounding each of the designs, indicating that it is nighttime. The bowl was traditionally fired with light blushes on the surface. It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. It is signed on the bottom, “Shirley Benn Nampeyo”. Definitely a piece of history!
“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.”
Out of stock
This is a creative bowl 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 larger piece of her pottery. It is round and fully polished. The bowl has two different styles of hummingbird moths on the sides. They are separated by stylized bat wings. It is a very complex design and tightly painted. The moths are highlighted with red and brown clay, and there is even a section that is incised and slipped with white! The bat wings have small incised lines on the black. Note as well the stars surrounding each of the designs, indicating that it is nighttime. The bowl was traditionally fired with light blushes on the surface. It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. It is signed on the bottom, “Shirley Benn Nampeyo”. Definitely a piece of history!
“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.”
Brand
Benn, Shirley Nampeyo (b. 1936)
Shirley Benn Nampeyo is a great-granddaughter of Nampeyo of Hano, a granddaughter of Annie Healing, and a daughter of Daisy Hooee. She is a sister of Louella Naha Inote and Raymond Naha. She married Zuni jeweler Virgil Benn. Shirley is known for both her pottery and her jewelry.
"I learned most of my pottery from my grandmother, and when I got to doing more my mother helped with shaping. She taught me the ways to make them. The pottery maidens [Zuni Olla Maidens, a performance group that carries large water jars on their heads] would come in summertime, and she [Daisy] would help them make pottery. I learned to mix paint from my mom and learned about the designs, where they come from. I am also a silversmith, I do channel work, necklaces, bolos, and pins." -Shirley Benn (Dillingham 1994)