Duwyenie, Preston – Shifting Sand Seedpot with Silver Lid

2.75"w x 3"h (w/ lid)

$ 750.00

Preston Duwyenie is know for his Hopi pottery which blends modern and traditional aspects of the art. This seedpot is made from a white clay which he finds near Second Mesa at Hopi.  The body of the piece is fully polished.  The top area above the shoulder has the shifting sand design is carved into the clay so that it have a very natural appearance.  What makes the sand area so fascinating is how he carves it so that it has very natural appearance.  What works so well is that it flows around the entire surface, just as if the clay has been swept away. The top view of the piece shows the design nicely and the shadows the design creates.  The lid is made from silver and cast against cuttlefish bone.  The casting creates a a similar style of ‘shifting sand’ design to complement the clay areas!  The the seedpot and the silver lid are signed on the bottom with Preston’s hallmark which is a woman carrying a child and his Hopi name, which means “carried in beauty”.   Preston is from Second Mesa at Hopi, and taught ceramics for years at Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe.

Why the shifting sand designs? Preston says he remembers watching a smooth pebble caught in sand being shifted by the wind, “there was beauty in its isolation within the sea of sand. It was like an island.  The endless sands of time, and the fact that people, too are tossed about by the wind. There is always rippling in our lives”.

Why the shifting sand designs? Preston says he remembers watching a smooth pebble caught in sand being shifted by the wind, “there was beauty in its isolation within the sea of sand. It was like an island.  The endless sands of time, and the fact that people, too are tossed about by the wind. There is always rippling in our lives”.