Elva Tewaguna Namepyo was a daughter of Fannie Nampeyo, a granddaughter of the Nampeyo of Hano, and a sister of Iris and Tonita Nampeyo and Thomas Polacca.  Her pottery was coil-built, stone polished, and painted with bee-weed and natural clay slips. This jar has a very tightly painted classic migration pattern as the design.  There are six bird wings above the shoulder and six below, for a total of 12.  The piece was traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  It is signed on the bottom, “Elva Nampeyo”.  It is in good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair but some fugitive black on the surface.  Her daughter Adelle Nampeyo continues in the same family tradition.

Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo said of  the migration pattern:

“This is the one design that was really stressed for us to use, the migration pattern. Nothing but lines, representing the migration of all the people to all the places, including down below and up above. It has seven points at the top and bottom. All the x’s represent life from the bottom and top, telling you the universe is one. The thin lines, I just wanted to paint them real fast and real close to try and include everyone.”  Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo, Spoken Through Clay