Chapella, Grace – Open Bowl with Moth (1973)

7.75"w x 2.75"h

$ 1,600.00

This is a classic open bowl by Grace Chapella.  She was born into the Bear Clan on February 14, 1874 at Tewa on First Mesa.  She learned to make pottery from her mother, TaTung Pawbe and also from Nampeyo of Hano, who was her neighbor.  Her name in Tewa as “White Squash Blossom”.  She was one of the great Hopi matriarchs of the last century. Grace  was the sister of Laura Tomosie and Dalee, the mother of Alma Tahbo, and the great grandmother of Mark Tahbo and Diana Tahbo. She led a remarkable life, becoming the first Hopi to fly in an airplane in 1927 and living over a century (107 years!). Grace revived designs from the Sikyatki ruins at the base of First Mesa and it is the classic butterfly or moth pattern for which she is the most famous.

This open bowl is made using the traditional red Hopi clay.  It is painted with bee-weed and a white clay slip. The bowl has a moth, the pattern for which Grace is the most famous. The outside of the bowl is also painted with cloud and wind designs.  The bowl is signed on the back “Grace Chapella, 99 years old, Polcacca, AZ”. I remember Mark Tahbo told me that when Grace was getting older, her daughter Alma would add her age to the back of the bowl.  This  piece is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  Definitely a piece of history!