This is a large wide shoulder jar by Lorraine Williams.  The jar has a sharp shoulder and sloping sides.  On the top half, there are two large Thunder Yei figures.  They are holding lightning arrows in their hands. Separating them are large bands of cloud, rain, and mountain designs.  The designs are incised into the clay and then highlighted red, black, and white.  The jar has been traditionally fired, which creates variations in color. Interestingly, these large pieces are fired upside down!  After the firing, it is covered in pine pitch, which is typical of all traditional Navajo pottery harkening back to when it was utilitarian.  Lorraine has won numerous awards for her pottery and has been featured in books such as “A Legacy of Generations”.  It is signed on the bottom, “LW, Lorraine Williams”. 

“The potteries talk to you. When I’m feeling down, they say, ‘go rest, leave me alone.”  When it’s a good day they say, ‘start working'”.  Lorraine Williams, Navajo Folk Art