Tso, Faye – 18″ Tall Jar with Four Buffalo Maidens (1993)

This is spectacular large jar by Faye Tso.  She was one of the first Navajo potters to use unconventional imagery in her pottery.  While traditional Navajo pottery has very little decoration, Tso applied images of corn maidens, lizards, and dancers to the surface of the clay.  Her grandson, Jarred Tso, is also an important younger potter who is carrying on this amazing family tradition.  This jar has a round shoulder and an elongated neck. The rim of the jar has an incised mountain design.  However, it is the figures that are so striking in person. There are four women wearing buffalo headdresses and holding evergreens. Each figure is in appliqué on the surface, and each figure is detailed in design.  Note how you can even see their necklaces!  The jar was traditionally fired and then covered in pinon pitch.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Faye Tso”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  Definitely a great piece of Navajo pottery history!  It’s not often we see pieces by Faye in this size or creativity of design, making it an important piece of her history in clay. 

Brand

Tso, Faye (1933-2004)

Faye B. Tso was one of the first Navajo potters to use unconventional imagery in her pottery.  Her father was Leonard Begody.  Traditional Navajo pottery has very little decoration, but Tso applied images of corn maidens, warriors, and dancers onto the surface of the clay. She was a practicing Navajo herbalist, and her husband and son are both medicine men. The family often uses Tso’s pottery in their ceremonies, because "fire, cloud, and earth are all part of the Navajo way". Her grandson, Jared Tso, is also an important younger potter who is carrying on this amazing family tradition.