This is a classic jar by Dextra Quotskuyva.  She is certainly one of the great innovators among Hopi-Tewa potters.  Her work began with more classic imagery and then has evolved over the years to more unique and stylized designs. This piece is from the mid 1980s.  It has a round shoulder and a short neck with a turned-out rim.  The neck and rim are polished tan while the top of the shoulder is red.  The body of the jar has four eagle tails extending downward.  They are painted with bee-weed.  The TINY lines are simple perfection and a reflection of Dextra’s early fame.  The jar was traditionally fired to create the blushes on the surface.  The tight, creative painting, the unique shape, and the high stone polished surface are all reflective of the high quality pieces created by Dextra.  The bottom of the jar is signed with her incised “Detra” with an ear of corn representing the Corn Clan.   The jar is in excellent with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  Dextra has been the subject of a retrospective of her pottery at the Wheelwright Museum entitled, “Painted Perfection“.

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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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