Pot with Dancers with Headdresses and Rattles

Faye Tso, Pot with Dancers with Headdresses and Rattles, ca. 1985, fired clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.177
Copied 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
Date
ca. 1985
Location
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
Mediums Description
fired clay with piñon pitch
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group — male
  • Indian — Navajo
  • Dress — Indian dress
  • Ceremony — dance
  • Ceremony — Indian
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.