Hopi Pueblo Seed Jar Pottery By Carla Nampeyo & Reuel Claw

Late 20th Century

4.125" H x 3.125" D

Hand Coiled and Etched Brown Ware Carved Egg Shaped with Etched Kachina of Left Hand Motif Design Signed C R Claw Nampeyo

In Very Good Condition

Carla Claw Nampeyo (Hopi-Tewa, Snow Clan, from Shungopavi/First Mesa) comes from the renowned Nampeyo pottery lineage. She is the daughter of Thomas Polacca Nampeyo, granddaughter of Fannie Polacca Nampeyo, and great-granddaughter of the legendary Nampeyo of Hano (who revived Sikyatki-style Hopi pottery in the late 19th/early 20th century). She has been active since the mid-1970s. She specializes in miniature to small seed jars/pots, often using dark brown polished slips, sgraffito (scratching/incising designs), carving, and slips that can give a wood-like appearance. Common motifs include katsinas (e.g., Crow Mother, Koshare clowns), lizards, feathers, warriors, geometric patterns, and pueblo scenes. Her work blends traditional Hopi forms and techniques with modern/personal innovations.

Reuel (Ral) Claw (Navajo/Diné) married into the family. Carla taught him traditional Hopi hand-coiling, clay preparation, and firing (often with sheep dung). He started around 1997 and creates his own distinctive style, incorporating Navajo themes like warriors, healers, mountain people stories, and healing ceremonies on Hopi-style pottery. Pieces are often signed “R. Claw” or “Ral” with “Navajo.”