Description

This wonderful pot was completely created in the traditional way- hand coiled and fired outside. It is the unique polishing and firing properties that give Alice Cling’s beautiful pottery its special luster which enhances the beautiful color variations in the veneer. The asymmetrical rim features a kiva step design which leads to a sharp low shoulder.

Alice applies a light coating of warm pitch to the warm pots after firing, and burnishes that down to a distinctive low sheen. The chemistry of the clay, the atmosphere in the fire, and the ash that falls onto the pots from the juniper wood combine to produce the red-orange-purple-brown-black blushes that enhance the unusual veneer of her pottery.

Alice Cling is arguably one of the most influential Navajo potters in the past 25 years.  This is attributed to her unique ability of making subtly simple designs into a stunning work of art with captivating hues of red, purple, browns and blacks.  She has been very influential in the evolution of Navajo pottery from folk art to fine art. Her perfectly balanced pottery seems to hover on a narrow base and gracefully rise to a simple rim. Many of her works often have an asymmetric flow in design beginning from the opening, that flows gracefully with the design to the base.

Condition: Excellent – original condition — there is a small patch of old sales sticker residue just above the flat bottom.
Provenance: Purchased from a collector in Arizona.