Setalla, Dee – Large Open Bowl with Hummingbird, Dragonflies, and Bird Wings

11.5"w x 5.5"h

$ 775.00

Dee Setalla is a son of noted potter Pauline Setalla and a brother of Stetson Setalla, Gwen Setalla, and Agnes Nasonhoya.  This large open bowl is coil-built and painted with bee-weed (black) and three different colors of clay slips.  The outside of the bowl is fully painted around the rim edge with cloud, rain, and bird wing designs.  It is a complex and flowing pattern.  However, it is the inside that is so dynamic. There is a large hummingbird design in front of a flower. He has used red, burgundy, and mauve-colored clays to highlight the bird and flower.  Surrounding the hummingbird are small dragonflies.  It is a complex design painted in the interior.  There are light blushes to the surface from the firing.  The bowl is signed with his initials “D. S.” and bear paw (for Bear Clan).  Most recently, Dee won the prestigious “Helen Naha” Award at Santa Fe Indian Market in 2019.

“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.”