Qoyawayma, Al – Polycrome Triangular Box with Birds and Cliff Dwelling

6.5"w x 6.5"h x 7.5" long

$ 12,500.00

This is an extraordinary box by Al Qoyawayma.  It has been almost three years since he has finished one of these boxes and this one takes the concept to a new level of difficulty.  The shape is distinctive with the three flat sides and the flat lid.  The three sides allow him space to create his multi-layer carved designs.  On one side there is a feather pattern surrounded by a corn design.  Note the polished areas in both red and orange clay.  The design flows from one side to the next.  The opposite side has two stylized birds polished tan.  There is an additional highlight of blue clay for the eye.  The “back of the box is Al’s most recognizable style of the “cliff dwelling”.  This is his first time to incorporate it into one of the boxes and the result is exceptional.  First, there are areas, where he has pushed the clay into the side to create various levels.  There are the various shapes of the doors with the keyhole, square the even ones with the fallen beams!  Did you know that after he details all the small bricks into the clay, they are then slipped for additional color.  Near the base are two sections with a carved star design polished tan.  Finally, there is the lid, which rests on an interior ledge so it fits perfectly. The top of the lid has carved bird and flower designs.  The edge and finial are polished deep red, while there are orangish-red polished areas and brown slipped incised sections. Just thinking about the amount of time to carve so many levels into the clay, then polish them in various colors and finally create the cliff dwelling section is why this piece is so exceptional.  It is creative in form and design and certainly a style that is easily identified as unique to Al Qoywayama.  The box is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Al Qoyawayma”.  It is a new piece from 2021. 

Al wrote of this piece:

This is a three-sided polychrome vase with a lid. “Polychrome” being the several multi-colored clay slips. In the art world, this piece has been given the name “The Box”….. as in say…. a “jewelry box”. This piece is of Hopi clay slab construction with carved designs based on Sikyatki styled iconography, Sikyatki being a village of the Coyote Clan occupation starting around 1300 AD. One additional new element added to this piece is the rear panel architectural or cliff dwelling type motif. The stonework is carved or incised and requires 3 phases to bring into the stone-like quality. The other three panels reflect stylized or abstract feathers and birds, but viewing might suggest other figures. The base slip is the classic tan or buff yellow, and the orange, red and brighter yellow colors are a mixture of found southwestern native clay refined into the slip or paint.

The final surfaces are then stone polished and when fired become bright and the polished sheen. This shape, tapering towards the bottom, is unique in Southwestern pottery, however, it is part of an “Al Q” triangular style that also tapers towards the top with a small lid. There are no flat panels on each face, rather everything is curved. The front edge dips and gives the impression of the prow of a ship underway….a leading edge. This idea conforms to one Coyote Clan’s traditional duty of “leading the way” for others, such as in education or just as in trailblazing.