Manygoats, Elizabeth – Large Jar with Girl, Boy, Horse, Goat and Dog

8"w x 6.5"h

$ 350.00

This is a classic water jar with a relief-designed scene by Elizabeth Manygoats.  She is a daughter of noted potter Betty Manygoats.  Elizabeth is known for her folk-art style pottery with figures in relief or applique on the surface.  She says that she often emphasizes Navajo women and their daily lives in her work because “They’re the ones I look up to.”  This jar is coil-built and very thin-walled.  It is the larger size jar she makes with a Navajo scene. The jar has a sharp shoulder and an elongated neck. The shoulder of the jar has a girl reading a book, a horse, and a dog in raised relief.  Against the neck, there is a chicken, sheep, goat, and cowboy with a lasso.  In the background on the neck of the jar are the sun, clouds, trees, and large mesas.  The scenes of the jar are painted, but below the shoulder and on the inside of the neck, the jar is the natural color of the clay.  The various colors are added to highlight the imagery.  The jar is traditionally fired to create variations in color to the clay surface.  After the firing, the entire piece is painted and covered in pinon pitch in the manner of traditional Navajo pottery.  The piece is signed on the bottom in the clay, “EM 22”  Elizabeth has won numerous awards for her pottery over the years.  It can also be found in museums throughout the southwest.