Hopi Pueblo Polychrome Cylinder Pottery By Eva Yellowbird

ca. 1970s

6.875" H x 4.5" D

Hand Coiled Clay Pottery with a Light Orange Slipped Background and a Painted Deep Red and Dark Brown Colored Geometric Design

In Very Good Condition

Hopi pottery, especially from First Mesa (including Hopi-Tewa villages), often features fine-line geometric, bird, feather, or migration pattern designs in polychrome on yellow or cream slips. The tradition draws heavily from ancient Sikyatki Polychrome (c. 1375–1625 CE), which was revived in the late 19th/early 20th century by potters like Nampeyo. Cylinder forms are a noted variant, sometimes taller and more vase-like. 

Eva Yellowbird was a renowned Hopi potter known for her classic style and traditional imagery.  She began her craft as a youngster under the direct guidance of the famous potter Nampeyo of Hano. 

Yellowbird is celebrated for continuing the Sikyatki revival designs taught to her by Nampeyo.  Her work is particularly distinguished by its beautiful execution of migration patterns, a traditional motif in Hopi pottery.  Her contributions to the art form are documented in significant publications such as Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham and Talking With The Clay by Stephen Trimble.