Large, low Hopi jar with four panels of polychrome decoration, including abstract feather designs floated on yellow clay with orange blushes, signed with Paqua Naha’s frog symbol. Late 1940s or early 1950s (?) This is a beautifully done pot with great presence.
Ed Wade (4/23/09) pointed out that the painting of 2001-05 is characteristic of Paqua’s pots: one-third use of one color and two-thirds use of a second color. The pot was purchased from Darllene of Transitional Arts Trading Co., Livermore, CA who had little provenance on the piece: “I don’t have any real documentation on this piece, but we bought this as part of a large collection of pottery and katchinas from a young lady in Los Angeles earlier this year…The young lady inherited the collection from her grandmother who (we’re told) collected in the 1940s thru 1960s.”
Toward the end of her life, Paqua discovered how to make white-slipped ware (as in the Polacca tradition) that did not crackled but remained smooth after firing. Her daughter Joy is particularly known for this white slipware (see 1992-09) which is difficult to finish (see 1991-06) For a pot by Donna Robertson, a great granddaughter of Paqua see 1994-01.