This unsigned Hopi-Tewa Cylinder vase has two images of Sikyatki “man bird” design. The lip has a 2.5-inch chip that does not intrude on the painted image. Ed Wade (4/23/09) believes the vase was possibly made and painted by Annie Nampeyo in the late 1920s or early 1930s, though this attribution is far from certain.
A pot with a very similar design (including similar eye shapes) by Rachel Namingha, daughter of Annie, is shown in Struever (2001:113). Bowl 2006-01 in the collection also has a “man-eagle” design, and the style of the painting is similar to 2003-14. If Annie was not the maker, perhaps both 2003-14 and 2006-01 were products of Rachel’s hand.
At some point, this vase had been covered with shellac or a similar material; in January 2004, I used acetone to remove this covering. For an older pot, the painting is in excellent condition because it was protected by the shellac.
See “Man Eagle Design” in the Category List for a complete listing of pots in this collection using variations of this design.
