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
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.

Works by this artist (19 items)

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Image Not Available
(Famous Paintings, portfolio) The Coast of Florida
Artist
Not on view
Mary Nimmo Moran, The Old Homestead, 1880, etching and chine colle on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of American History, Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.122.59
The Old Homestead
Artist
Date1880
etching and chine colle on paper
Not on view
Mary Nimmo Moran, Twilight, ca. 1880-1890, etching, roulette, sandpaper, and scotchstone on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of American History, Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.122.54
Twilight
Artist
Dateca. 1880-1890
etching, roulette, sandpaper, and scotchstone on paper
Not on view
Mary Nimmo Moran, (Three Maidens at the River), ca.1880-1890, etching on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of American History, Division of Graphic Arts, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.122.57
(Three Maidens at the River)
Artist
Dateca.1880-1890
etching on paper
Not on view

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