Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration

Copied Alice Cling, Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration, 1988, fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch, 9 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2 in. (24.1 x 21.6 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock, 1997.124.147

Artwork Details

Title
Pot with Incised Geometric Decoration
Artist
Date
1988
Location
Dimensions
9 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2 in. (24.1 x 21.6 cm) diam.
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock
Mediums
Mediums Description
fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch
Classifications
Object Number
1997.124.147
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.147

Artwork Description

Navajo potter Alice Cling uses clay dug from Black Mesa near her home in Arizona to make her highly polished pieces. She doesn't use a wheel to make her work, but instead follows the Navajo tradition of coiling strips of clay, then smoothing them together (Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994). The piece is fired in an open pit using cedar for fuel. Where the smoke comes into contact with the hot clay, discolorations or "fire clouds" form on the surface of the pot.