Wedding Vase with Braided Handles

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: Alice Cling
Date: May, 1987
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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28B
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: plant material
clay
Mediums Description: fired clay with red clay slip and piñon pitch
Classifications: Decorative Arts
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.