Description

Caddo pottery is instantly recognized by archaeologists and collectors alike due to the defining characteristics of very thin-walled construction, extraordinary light weight, and a highly polished body.  One other characteristic of this beautiful pottery is the intricate carved patterns of scrolls, cross-hatching and designs that are on the body.

Chase recently shared with me aspects of how he makes his beautiful pottery: “The clay that I use that is dug up from the rivers in the Southeastern United states, mostly the Caddo homeland, is a dark red or dark brown clay that fires to either red or reddish buff. The way that I fire my pottery in an open ground fire with hardwoods that I collect around my property, mostly pecan and oak, usually leaves much cherished fire clouds or a darkening carbon reduction on the pottery. I do not use metal buckets or metal cages. I fire my pottery traditionally, exactly like my ancestors did thousands of years ago in a simple bonfire. Typically, if the pottery is smothered by wood and pine needles (the Caddo are a piney woods tribe at the edge of the plains), then the pottery will turn black. If the pottery is pulled out at exactly the right time, it will be a coveted chocolate brown. My designs are painstakingly engraved into the very hardened pottery after it is fired. It is not a sgraffito into a soft fired clay, most of the time it is a high-pressure hand engraving into the stone hard clay that exposes the lighter clay body underneath which gives it the contrast.”

Chase has won numerous awards for his pottery, including Best of Show at the 14th annual Cherokee Art Market 2019; First Place Pottery Chickasaw’s Southeastern Art Show and Market 2021; and the Pottery Division for the 2021 Eiteljorg Virtual Market and Festival. His work is in prominent museums and galleries throughout the United States.

Condition: Excellent – original condition.
Provenance: Purchased from the artist.