Dunlap, Carmelita – Brown Wedding Vase with Rain and Cloud Designs (1980)

Carmelita Dunlap is one of the San Ildefonso potters best known for her large vessels.  This is one of her classic wedding vases.  It is fully polished and painted with a clay slip. The designs are clouds and rain patterns.  The wedding vase was  fired a chocolate brown, which is striking in person!  It is her brown fired pieces that are among the most scarce of her work and always a distinctive coloration.  Typical of her work, there is a lot of open space to let the polishing, shine, and simplicity of design each stand on their own. The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Carmelita Dunlap”.  It is dated 1980.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair. 

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Dunlap, Carmelita (1925 - 2000)

Carmelita Dunlap was a daughter Juanita Vigil and raised by Desideria Sanchez, both sisters of Maria Martinez. She learned to make pottery from her aunts and began making her distinctive vessels in 1955. She was known not only for her complicated designs but the large size of her pottery. She is also the matriarch of a family of potters including children Martha Appleleaf, Carlos Dunlap, Cynthia Star Flower and grandson Erik Fender. Carmelita won numerous awards for her pottery at events such as Santa Fe Indian Market and Gallup Ceremonials. Her pottery can be found in museums across the country including the NMAI and the Denver Art Museum.