Quotskuyva, Dextra – “Corrugation” Bowl, 1982 (p. 38 Painted Perfection)

7"w x 4.75"h

$ 3,000.00

Dextra Quostkuyva Nampeyo is certainly one of the most influential Hopi-Tewa potters of the last 50 years. Not only has she taught numerous potters (Steve Lucas, Yvonne Lucas, Les Namingha, Loren Ami, Hisi Nampeyo, to name just a few), but her creative designs and forms changed have dramatically influenced the pottery itself.  This corrugated bowl is from 1982.  It is featured in the book, “Painted Perfection” by Martha Struever.  The bowl has 21 rows of corrugation!  How did she do it?

Dextra created her version of a prehistoric corrugated jar by impressing the surface with chopsticks.  “We used the chopsticks when I was eating at a Chinese place.  I brought them home and that’s what I used.  I like the color, because Oriental colors are soft, not really bright or strong.  They make you calm. I didn’t put a lot of firing into this pot, just enough to bring out the pinkish color”.  Painted Perfection, p. 38

The coloration on the bowl is soft but accentuates the shadows created by the angular corrugation.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Dextra” along with a corn plant to represent the Corn Clan.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  Not just a creative bowl by Dextra, but one that is distinctive in design and with exceptional provenance!

“If I dream about different designs, I dream this should be here and that should be there. Once I start doing that, I get up and try to sketch it. I leave it and then I think about it. It won’t hurt to go ahead and put it on the pot if that’s what it’s meant for. I’ll go ahead and do it. If I don’t, then I keep thinking about it. Another dream, a repeat of the same one. So, I decided there’s a reason why. So I’ll go and put it on the pot. The dreams lead me to something new. It’s kind of funny. I worried that people would not like what I was doing. My mom said that because you are changing it people are not going to like it. I thought I don’t know. All these ideas about life in this world, what to leave, and what’s important in life. Living the spiritual life. That’s how I got started. I guess it was alright. I couldn’t get away from it anyway.”  Dextra Quotskuyva, Spoken Through Clay