Pot with Dancers with Headdresses and Rattles

Faye Tso, Pot with Dancers with Headdresses and Rattles, ca. 1985, fired clay with piñon pitch, 22 x 18 ⁷⁄₈ x 18 ¹⁄₂ in. (55.9 x 47.9 x 47.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.177

Artwork Details

Title: Pot with Dancers with Headdresses and Rattles
Artist: Faye Tso
Date: ca. 1985
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
/
3rd Floor
/
28B
Dimensions: 22 x 18 ⁷⁄₈ x 18 ¹⁄₂ in. (55.9 x 47.9 x 47.0 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: plant material
clay
Mediums Description: fired clay with piñon pitch
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Ceremony — Indian
Ceremony — dance
Dress — Indian dress
Indian — Navajo
Figure group — male
Object Number: 1997.124.177
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.177

Artwork Description

Faye Tso decorates many of her pieces with Ye’i (deity figures), corn maidens, and ceremonial scenes to express Navajo beliefs and rituals. She experiments with different clay slips, and often applies the dung of sheep, goats, and cattle to the clay during the firing process (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art, 1994). This changes the color of the clay from a golden orange to a deep brown or black.