This stirrup jar by Al Qoyawayma is inspired by pre-historic pieces with a similar handle and wide body. The jar has two spouts and he has carved on both sides of the piece.  The design on one side is a wave pattern, while the other has a prayer feather pattern.   The carved areas are also polished, which is striking with this carving of some of the sections!  The ends are carved with a figure and a sun design.  The colors are derived from various clay slips.  The contrast of carved, polished, and matte surfaces works beautifully on this piece.  The various layers of carving allow for him to give additional depth to the piece. It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Al Qoyawayma”

Al says of this piece:

My concept and creation was to use a double opening (rimmed) shape with a stirrup (“handle” like) connecting the two rims which gives a flowing esthetic shape with the “irregular” two vertical openings to create an intersection of two complementary forces (stirrup and vertical opening) representing life (yin and yang). The prayer feather feathers and Sikyatki icons are added to give our Hopi spiritual context.

While this particular vessel shape may not be too familiar to the viewer, its origins are found in Peru among the Moche (coastal culture, pre-Inca)  starting around 800 to 200 BCE. The stirrup and stirrup spout jars originated in Peru, with the the stirrup concept working its way from South America, to Mexico and then the Southwest. There is some idea that the stirrup use in the cultures represented royalty and the creations were “royal scepters”.  (see the last 3 photos).

The most identifiable “modern” stirrup form in the Southwest is the classic Wedding Vase especially occurring along the Rio Grande. In prehistoric time both the Chaco area and Casas Grandes just south of the New Mexico border had stirrup vessels.  Casas Grande lay on a route from the West coast or Mexico interior. Going South into Central America (Guatemala as I recall) is in the third from last photo.  To complete the stirrup history, the second from last photo shows the classic stirrup spout shape of the Moche coastal culture (pre-Inca) and the last photo a single spout with a double spout stirrup piece.