The shape and design of this bowl are in perfect harmony: all elegance. The highly-polished hemispheric center is surrounded by wide, slightly-curved, flanges. With only three design elements spread in a balanced pattern over a wide expanse; the bowl is easy to comprehend. I’ve meditated in Japanese gardens to the same effect.
Form:
The walls of the vessel are 0.3125-inches thick, giving the pot substantial weight. The spherical body lacks a flat base, yet the bowl balance perfectly on a hard surface. The flanges are 0.75-inches wide at their mid-point, broadening to 1.25-inches at the corners. The exterior is polished to a high sheen with no discernible polishing striations. Half the bottom is more blushed-orange from the outdoor firing than the remaining half. The interior surface has a more dull tone, but it is also polished so carefully that no striations are visible. Only the lower left quadrant of the interior design is blushed from the firing. The bowl is unsigned.
Design:
The edge of the bowl is painted black. The left and right flanges carry a slightly-curved monochromatic element 4.25-inched long. It is a thin design with a pair of black-tipped feathers at either end. These feathers are based on unpainted combs. Between these combs, at the center of the design, are two solid-black “gumdrop” hills with their flat bases facing each other and separated by 4 or 5 parallel black lines, the left rendition having more lines. The top and bottom flanges also display a simple element consisting of two solid triangles facing each other with their tips merged.
The hollow of the dish is 4.5-inches across, but its curved surface is 5.875-inches wide. Completely filling this surface is a single butterfly, a big guy, 5.5625-inches long. Its head is an irregularly shaped circle 0.625-inches in diameter. From its head sprout two curved antenna, their upper surface peppered with 18 to 22 distinct black dots. A triangle of black dots in the head represent the eyes and a mouth. From the neck flow 2.75-inch long, black, blade shapes that create the upper-edge and points of the wings. Tucked between this edge and the body of the butterfly are large blotchy-red elements that form the majority of the wing surfaces. Near the neck these red shapes are pointed; their lower edge is deeply lobed.
The body of the butterfly is slightly flared outward to the tail. The upper section is almost rectangular with black right triangles along the walls, their points extending to the shoulder. The result is an unpainted, residual isosceles triangle between them, pointing downward. The bottom of this section is marked by a set of 4 parallel lines, a 3-lane “highway.” Below is a squat roughly-rectangular section with a black arch spanning its width. The arc along the space’s upper edge is quite thick, especially in the corners, but narrows to a point as it reaches downward to the floor of the space. The floor is occupied by a wide “gumdrop” hill, its curved surface facing upward. From the center grow 3 parallel and stubby black lines. Parallel to the lower straight edge of this hill are 4 parallel lines, another “three-lane highway.” Below is a stippled tail section, with two points flanking a rounded center section. Emerging downward from the rounded center are three thin parallel lines.
Design Analysis:
This perfectly-balanced, carefully-polished spherical bowl with wide, curved flanges has a pleasing and serene form, evidence it was made by an exceptional potter. Caressed with my eyes closed, it feels like a smooth river rock.
Some designs from Hopi are not just decorative, but carry substantial spiritual meaning and that is the case here. When it rains on the dry land that is the Hopi mesas, the desert blooms and butterflies feed off their nectar. This a heaven on earth, slitalpuva:
“along (or throughout) the flowery land..along fiends in bloom, the land brightened with flowers, as a place that shines forth with colored blossoms, birds and butterflies (Hays-Gilpin and Schaafsma, 2010:122).”
Butterflies are a symbol of this heavenly land and appear on ancient pottery (xxx:yyy). Their use on modern pottery was made famous by Grace Chapel (1991-10, 2010-22 and 2011-19) and her descendants (1989-07,1995-01, 1997-08, and1999-06 ). I sent Ed Wade a photograph of this bowl and he wrote that he thought Grace Chapella was the maker, adding:
“The crudely formed circular head is commonly seen in her tourist ware but why that is so puzzles me. It might be a reversed aesthetic wherein most tourist were looking for primitive souvenirs from the Wild West not her sophisticated creations. A similar situation is seen in the sloppy execution of the moths antennas.”
—-6-20-25 email
I certainly see the irregular shape of the butterfly head and Ed’s explanation is an interesting suggestion. However, I don’t agree that the antennas are “sloppy.” They seem well-executed to me.
In 1930 the Museum of Northern Arizona [MNA] organized its first Hopi Arts Show and encouraged potters to submit pottery with solid, even, red paint. Most Hopi potters quickly reformulated their blotchy paint palette to conform with the Museum’s directive. The blotchy red paint seen on bowl 2025-06 suggests a pre-1930 date for the pot.
The four black elements on the flange surround the central butterfly image and focus the viewer’s eyes towards the central image, much like a mat or frame surrounding a painting. Much of this central image consists of the red expanses of the wings, which also center a viewer’s gaze.
In short, both the shape of the bowl and the design are balanced and calming. To an unusual degree both the form and painting of bowl 2025-05 work together.
As noted below in the “Purchase history,” Steve Elmore originally sold this bowl to Daniel Waycaster from whom I bought it. Both Steve Elmore and Ed Wade believe this unsigned pot was made by Grace Chapelle. Given these opinions, I have listed her as the maker.
A Nampeyo Note:
The collection contains a jar by Nampeyo displaying moths (2008-06), but I am unaware of pots with good provenance by her that carry butterfly designs. The black elements on the flange of bowl 2025-06, however, are typical of her work. She frequently drew feathers with white combs and black tips and –as detailed in the catalog entry for 2025-05— also drew design elements with feathers at both ends (“oppositional feather motifs”) like the design seen here. Often Nampeyo introduced a minor inequality to unbalance her design. The unequal number of parallel lines at the center of these linear elements serves such a purpose, as does the irregular circle defining the face of the butterfly. The element formed by two triangles joined at their apex is also characteristic of Nampeyo, as seen on bowl 1993-04 and bi-lobed canteen 2024-02. I have not seen this double-triangle design used before by another potter from Nampeyo’s era.
Bowl 2025-05 has an unusual and serene form that collaborates with a beautiful and serene design to place this little bowl at the apex of Hopi ceramic art.
