Ceramics
Nyla Sahmie Nampeyo
Unknown: Shoulder Jar with Sipapu and Migration Symbols
1985
clay
5.5 x 9 in.
2002.1
Gift of Dan '69 and Nancy Schneider
She mostly uses clay and precise hand coiling techniques to create her designs and then paints over them. This particular jar features migration symbols such as the migration swirl, as well as sipapu, which are small indentations or holes that are often present on the floors of Hopi pithouses. These sipapu in turn symbolize portals that the ancestors of different Pueblo peoples used to enter into the present world.
Julia Hearn ‘21
Lasting Legacy 2021
Keywords: Southwest potteryGeometricThe Nature of ArtNative AmericanHopi PuebloCeramicsDecorative Art