Namoki, Lawrence – “Time” Jar with Crow Mother, Masau, Katsina and Petroglyphs

Lawrence Namoki was known for the variety of styles of his pottery. While he began with deeply carved pottery, he ended his career by creating delicately painted vessels.  This piece is entitled “Time“.  It is part of a series he made around 2012 about traditional Hopi stories. The jar is fascinating, as it has a variety of his styles from throughout his career!  The jar has four panels of design.  The first is a Crow Mother Katsina that is carved into the clay.  As the jar is turned, there is a One Horn Priest Katsina represented in the cosmos with stars.  The third is a series of petroglyphs depicted as if they were on a stone wall!  Finally, there is an intricately painted Masau katsina with his arms raised.  It is an exceptional piece!  The neck is the natural color of the clay and has the appearance of wood.  The jar is signed on the bottom, “Lawrence Namoki”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

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Namoki, Lawrence (1949-2020)

Lawrence Namoki is from Walpi, the oldest village on First Mesa at Hopi. He began his art career carving miniature katchina in wood. In the 1980's he began making pottery which was deeply carved and the imagery was mostly focused on Katsina figures. The surfaces were slipped and painted to give the appearance of wood. Today, his work has taken a new turn with imagery based on Hopi myths and history. He says of his pottery, "The type of artwork I do cannot be taught in any educational institute. Only a true Hopi can do what I do and he must understand the Hopi culture and the life of a Hopi to do artwork of this type. All my artwork on pottery is based on Hopi Culture and Myths.” Lawrence has won numerous awards for his pottery at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market and the Heard Indian Market. His pottery can also be found in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Heard Museum.