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 is a more classic piece of her pottery.  It is painted with natural clay slips and bee-weed (black) and traditionally fired to create the blushes or fire-clouds on the surface.  The jar has four swans painted around the shoulder.  Note how the deep red is polished on the neck and the rim of the jar.  The base of the jar is matte red and the inside of the mouth of the jar is an unusual tan coloration.  The swans are painted to extend up from the shoulder.  Note the photo of the jar from the top and how she has squared the rim but has the birds swirls around! It is this attention to the small details which makes her work so spectacular.  The jar 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.  Dextra was the subject of a retrospective of her pottery at the Museum of Indian Art and Culture, along with a companion book entitled, “Painted Perfection“.