Lawrence Namoki (1940-2002) was a talented Hopi artist, whose work is very collectible. He has been recognized with awards at the prestigious Santa Fe & Heard Museum Indian Markets. His work is in the permanent collections of the Heard Museum, the Smithsonian & the Denver Art Museum. He started out as a kachina carver and adapted his style to pottery in the 1980s, creating works with bas relief scenes from traditional Hopi life. This is an early sculptural piece of his, titled "Proposal"; the color scheme is monochromatic and intended to look like wood although it is pottery. It depicts a traditionally dressed Hopi couple, as they contemplate their future together, possibly from his own life experiences. This was handbuilt of local clay and carved with exacting linework and textures. He painted it with brown and terra cotta colored mineral based paints from solid colors to very thin veils of watercolor. A small hole was left in the base to keep it from exploding when it was fired. This is signed Lawrence Namoki, Hopi, "Proposal" on the base. This is from the 1980's. It measures approx 1.5" H x 3.25" W x 3.25" D. Great opportunity to nab a rare, early highly collectible piece by this famous Hopi artist!