This jar was a collaboration with Dextra Quotskuyva and her grandson, Lowell Chereposy.  Lowell is the son of Dextra’s daughter Hisi Nampeyo.  This piece was made in 2004.  Lowell made the jar, and Dextra painted the design.  The jar is thin-walled with straight sides.  The exterior is fully polished.  The tight designs are typical of Dextra’s painting.  It is a classic hummingbird moth painted on the side with bee-weed (black) and polished red clay.  How do we know it is a hummingbird moth? Take a closer look at the top of the head, and you can see the feathery antennae of the moth.  Dextra made a variety of pieces with Lowell around 2004-5, but he has since not continued with making pottery.  The jar was traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  It is signed, “Lowell + Dextra” with a corn plant (for Corn Clan).  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

“Did you know?  This design is usually called a “hummingbird” pattern. However, in reality, it is most likely the depiction of a hawk or “hummingbird” moth (Manduca quinquemaculata), which has a flexible proboscis.  The figure above the large eye represents the feathery antennae of the hawk moth.  The plant to the right is a datura on which the hawk moth feeds.”

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Quotskuyva, Dextra Nampeyo (1928-2019)

Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo

Few potters have had such an impact on their art as Dextra.  She was a great-granddaughter of Nampeyo of Hano, descending through her eldest daughter, Annie Healing.  She was one of Hopi's most creative, innovative, and influential potters for almost forty years.  She is also the mother of famed painter Dan Namingha and potter Hisi Quotskuyva.  She taught Steve Lucas, Loren Ami, Yvonne Lucas, and Les Namingha to make pottery, resulting in Hopi pottery's nearly unprecedented influence.  Dextra used the bee-weed plant for the black and native clay slips for the red.  Dextra's pottery can be found in numerous museums' permanent collections and has been the subject of a book and exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum entitled "Painted Perfection."  Dextra Quotskuyva Nampeyo uses traditional Hopi pottery methods in hand coil construction, stone polish, paint, and open fire.

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