"Whirling Rainbow Goddesses of Mountainway Chant” Polychrome Jar [SOLD]

This intricately painted polychrome jar was created by Diné potter Lucy Leupp McKelvey. It is titled "Whirling Rainbow Goddesses of Mountainway Chant," and it places a complex, colorful composition on the exterior of a large pot. The four goddesses are inverted, hanging down from a horizontal band that circles the rim. Their rainbow bodies emerge and curve gently to the right, ultimately ending with arms and heads just above the jar's widest point. A second design band appears down below.

Considerable skill is required to create and execute such a composition, and McKelvey handled it beautifully. Each figure contains, within her, countless smaller design elements, each of which is, remarkably, as precise as the larger forms. An expansive color palette amplifies the effects of the designs, and an expressive vessel shape further heightens the impact.

Near the base, the artist signed Lucy Leupp McKelvey, Asdzaan Kiisaani, Navajo, ‘Whirling Rainbow Goddesses of Mountainway Chant.

Award winning Diné of the Navajo Nation artist Lucy Leupp McKelvey (1950-) Sand Girl first learned to make pottery around 1973 as a college student, working with ceramic clay and firing her pieces in an electric kiln. As she learned more about the history of both Navajo and Hopi-Tewa pottery, she began to use only traditional methods, utilizing only native clays and pigments and firing her pieces in outdoor oak fired kilns. Today, her complex designs, influenced by Navajo sand paintings, are executed in natural pigments made from hematite, bee plant and various clays. McKelvey was raised by her great-grandparents and other older relatives near Sheep Springs, Arizona. In the 8th grade she moved to Gallup, New Mexico, to live with her mother and attend high school. She received a degree in education from Brigham Young University and taught for many years on the Navajo Reservation. The recipient of numerous awards, McKelvey has taught her three daughters the skills of pottery making.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this "Whirling Rainbow Goddesses of Mountainway Chant" Polychrome Jar is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: NAVAJO POTTERY - Published in Plateau volume 58, number 2, 1987

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Hopi Pueblo, Diné of the Navajo Nation, Lucy Leuppe McKelvey