Shupla, Helen – Small Black Melon Bowl with 36 Ribs (1980’s)
$ 800.00
Helen Shupla is certainly most famous for her exceptional melon jars. Her melon jars are the very traditional form with the ribs pushed out in the clay. This melon bowl is one of her later pieces with 36 melon ribs. It is a combination of both carved and repousse ribs. That are both pushed out and carved. This seems like a very late style of her pottery, although there is no date. The entire piece is fully polished and fired a glassy black. The symmetry and deep coloration on this piece is exceptional in person! It is signed on the bottom, “Helen Shupla”. It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.
Out of stock
Helen Shupla is certainly most famous for her exceptional melon jars. Her melon jars are the very traditional form with the ribs pushed out in the clay. This melon jar is one of her classic shapes with the round body and the slight neck. The neck was a later development in her pottery forms. Each of the 17 ribs are pushed out into the clay. She would do this by placing her fingers inside the bowl and pushing against the clay from both the inside and outside! Can you see the slight angle to each section? This is how she would turn her hand as she was pushing against the clay to create the separate ribs! The entire piece is fully polished and fired black. It is signed on the bottom in the clay. It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.
