Hopi Pueblo Ceramic Turtle By Karen Abeita

Late 20th/Early 21st Century

1.125″ H x 2.625″ L x 1.5″ W

Hand Coiled from Local Red Clay Painted with a Geometric Design on Shell Signed K. Abeita Polacca Az.

From a Private Colorado Collection

Excellent Condition

Karen Abeita (also known as Karen Lynne Abeita-Daw, born 1960) is a Hopi-Tewa potter from First Mesa on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a Hopi-Tewa mother (Lenora Nahoodyce Abeyta of the Tewa Kachina-Parrot Clan) and an Isleta Pueblo father (Isidor Abeita Sr.), she blends influences from both heritages. She learned pottery from her mother and maternal grandmother, Mamie Nahoodyce, and now lives on the Hopi Reservation with her husband, Darryl Daw.

Abeita is celebrated for her intricately painted, hand-coiled pottery using traditional methods: coils of clay are scraped smooth, fired outdoors over sheep dung for an orange “blush” from iron in the clay, and decorated freehand with yucca-leaf brushes and natural pigments from beeweed (for black) and minerals. Her designs often draw from ancient Sikyatki polychrome styles (A.D. 14001600), featuring motifs like butterfly maidens (Polik Mana), pottery sherds, feathers, clouds, songbirds, and animals.

She has won numerous awards, including Best of Show at invitational shows (e.g., Lawrence, KS), and is featured in key publications like Hopi-Tewa Pottery: 500 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf and Canvas of Clay: Seven Centuries of Hopi Ceramic Art by Edwin L. Wade and Allan R. Cooke. Her work is signed with her name and Parrot Clan hallmark (a parrot symbol).