Jar with Fire Clouding

Description

Dextra Quotskuyva produced pots with masterfully painted motifs that exemplify the Hopi ceramic tradition—much like her great-grandmother Nampeyo, a well-known Hopi-Tewa potter active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like her famous relative, Quotskuyva’s eyesight began deteriorating later in life, preventing her from completing intricate compositions. During this period, she used the firing process to decorate the surfaces of the clay, resulting in unpredictable clouds and colors. This minimalist treatment of the vessel’s surface draws attention to its unusual, asymmetrical form.

Provenance

With King Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ, and Santa Fe, by 2021; sold to Peter and Elaine Liebesman, Rockville, MD, Aug. 26, 2021 [gallery invoice; copy in curatorial object file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2024.

Jar with Fire Clouding

Dextra Quotskuyva

Late 1997-98

Accession Number

274233

Medium

Earthenware and slip

Dimensions

13.4 × 33.1 × 33.1 cm (5 1/4 × 13 × 13 in.)

Classification

decorative arts

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Peter and Elaine Liebesman