Naha, Rainy – Jar with Shalako Katsina & Dance Shawl

6"w x 4.25"h

$ 1,100.00

This jar by Rainy Naha is intricately designed and painted.  On this jar, she has painted a Shalako Katsina on two-thirds of the jar.  She has a large tablita headdress which is very intricately painted and designed. Note how the top and sides of the tablita have cloud patterns.  The feathers on the top are painted in her style of hallmark!  The Shalako katsina is very tall, which is why she is depicted encompassing most of the jar.  The katsina also has feathers, which Rainy has also painted on the body of the figure.  It is said of the Shalako Mana:

The Hopi Shalako Mana is a deity representing the Corn Maiden and is believed to direct the clouds to the Hopi mesas. She has terraced bodies representing rain clouds on her head. The Hopi Shalako Mana always appears with her brother, Shalako Taka (Sa’lakwtaqa).

Opposite the figure is a section which is a Dance Shawl and has Hopi-Tewa designs.  Each of the squares has a different design from classic Hopi-Tewa pottery.  Note the very intricate checkerboard, and rain designs, along with all the various colors!  So why the Awatovi designs? Rainy’s mother, Helen “Feather Woman” Naha, lived on a ranch in the Jeddito Valley, below the Awatovi Ruins and Helen was the first revivalist of their black and white pottery.  Rainy has continued this revival with her innovative designs.  The jar is painted with various clay slips along with bee-weed, which is black.  It was traditionally fired and it is signed on the bottom with a feather and “Rainy”.  Rainy has won numerous awards for her pottery at Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Market and her work continues to be a creative inspiration in Hopi-Tewa pottery.