This is a classic water 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 jar is from the late 1990s, which can be seen in the use of the red polished areas as well as the etched signature.  The jar has a very tightly painted hummingbird on each side.  Each bird is painted with bee-weed (black) and then highlighted with a red clay slip which is highly polished. Note the VERY thin lines used in the design. The rim of the jar is flat and fully polished red.  This style is always striking!  The jar has been traditionally fired to create the coloration to the clay, which ranges from light to dark.  The open areas without design are typical of much of Dextra’s pottery, as she gives the clay some room “to breathe” on her pieces.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Dextra” and an ear of corn, as she is Corn Clan.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  Dextra has been the subject of a retrospective of her pottery at the Wheelwright called, “Painted Perfection“.