Wedding Vase with Braided Handles

Copied Alice Cling, Wedding Vase with Braided Handles, May, 1987, fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch, 8 1⁄2 x 6 1⁄2 x 6 1⁄2 in. (21.6 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Gibson Fahnestock, 1997.124.146

Artwork Details

Title
Wedding Vase with Braided Handles
Artist
Date
May, 1987
Location
Dimensions
8 1⁄2 x 6 1⁄2 x 6 1⁄2 in. (21.6 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm)
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
Subjects
  • Object — other — vase
Object Number
1997.124.146
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.146

Artwork Description

Traditional Native American wedding vases have two spouts joined by a handle to symbolize two lives coming together as one. In this piece, created by Navajo potter Alice Cling, there is only one opening, and the braided handles represent the two sides of a relationship. During the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds drink blessed water from the vase.