Youngblood, Nancy – Small Bowl with Four Carved Shells

2.25"w x 2"h

$ 2,500.00

This is an exceptional carved small bowl by Nancy Youngblood.  The bowl is coil-built and then carved and stone polished.  There are four deeply carved shells on this piece. Why shells? Nancy began carving them on her pottery after a trip to the Caribbean in the 1980s.  While it may seem an “exotic” addition to the pottery, shells were frequently traded in pre-contact times and even today are worn by the dancers during traditional Pueblo ceremonies.  When Nancy carves the shells the “ridges” are each rounded, just like on her melon bowl!  They are very time involved and create their own, “ribs”.  Each shell on this piece has 12 individual sections, for a total of 48!  The top of the piece is also stone-polished.  The bowl was fired a deep glassy-black coloration.  It is signed on the bottom, “Nancy Youngblood”, 2022.  Nancy has won numerous awards for her melon bowls, and this is undoubtedly a creative use of her melon rib style!