Polacca, Thomas – Round Red Polished Bowl with Eight Tewa Suns and Four Ducks (1976)
$ 1,100.00
This is an intricately designed bowl by Thomas Polacca. Thomas was a son of noted potter Fannie Nampeyo and a grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. He is considered among the first men to begin making pottery at Hopi in the 1970s. Interestingly, the men initially did not use the traditional Sikyatki designs but followed other directions in their pottery. This is from 1976 when he was creating fully polished red pieces. This bowl is round in shape and fully etched with designs. The bowl has a feather pattern around the rim. There are four large medallions, each with a duck in flight. Separating them are Tewa suns. Surrounding the suns are flowers and leaves that encompass the remainder of the bowl. It is a very complicated and intricately etched design. The background area has been stippled for texture. This period was one of innovation for Thomas and a transition from a few more ‘traditional” Hopi designs to the pieces that looked like wood. The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. The piece is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tom Polacca”. It is from 1976.
Out of stock
This is an intricately designed bowl by Thomas Polacca. Thomas was a son of noted potter Fannie Nampeyo and a grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. He is considered among the first men to begin making pottery at Hopi in the 1970s. Interestingly, the men initially did not use the traditional Sikyatki designs but followed other directions in their pottery. This is from 1976 when he was creating fully polished red pieces. This bowl is round in shape and fully etched with designs. The bowl has a feather pattern around the rim. There are four large medallions, each with a duck in flight. Separating them are Tewa suns. Surrounding the suns are flowers and leaves that encompass the remainder of the bowl. It is a very complicated and intricately etched design. The background area has been stippled for texture. This period was one of innovation for Thomas and a transition from a few more ‘traditional” Hopi designs to the pieces that looked like wood. The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. The piece is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tom Polacca”. It is from 1976.
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Polacca, Thomas (1935 - 2003)
Thomas Polacca was a son of noted potter Fannie Nampeyo and a grandson of Nampeyo of Hano. Along with Wallace Youvella (the husband of his sister Iris), Thomas was one of the first Hopi men to make and design pottery in the 1970s. Wallace and Thomas told the story that they first tried making pottery with "traditional" designs. Still, there was resistance from the women, so they began to create a new style of Hopi pottery with carved designs, much like Hopi Katsinas. Thomas received wide acclaim for his pottery over the years, and his work is in numerous museums, such as the Heard, the Denver Art Museum, and others.