Duwyenie, Preston – Small Shifting Sands Plate with Silver Inset

4.5" diameter

$ 500.00

This small plate by Preston Duwyenie is made from white Hopi clay found near Third Mesa at Hopi.  The back of the plate is stone polished and the front is carved to have the appearance of “shifting sand”.  The sand design has an organic and natural flow to each ribbon of sand, giving the appearance of them flowing across the surface.  On this plate, each of the bands is very tightly carved against the next, which creates a very striking appearance.  I photographed the plate with a half turn, which shows off how each line of sand has a different shadow as the piece is turned.  The center of the plate has a single inset piece of silver which is cast from cuttlefish bone.  The textured surface of the silver is similar to that of the surface of the plate.  The plate is signed on the back in the clay with Preston’s hallmark which is a woman carrying a child, which comes from Preston’s Hopi name, which means “carried in beauty”.  Preston is from Third Mesa at Hopi, and taught ceramics for years at Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) in Santa Fe.