Navajo Pottery Jar with Bird on Lid by Diné Artist Alberta Nofchissey Mason [SOLD]

This lidded jar, made by Alberta Nofchissey Mason, a Diné artist of the Navajo Nation, is an advanced stage from traditional Diné pottery.  Traditionally, Diné pottery is thick-walled and covered with a coating of piñon pitch as a water-proofing agent. This jar, however, was made as a work of art, not as a functional object.

Alberta Nofchissey Mason (b.1941) is a master potter and entrepreneur. She gained recognition as a painter, potter and musician as a student at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her paintings and pottery are in galleries in the UK, private collections and the Smithsonian Institution. She holds a BA in Political Science from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. She is a Founding Member of Native American Events, Inc.

Mason is related to Christine Nofchissey McHorse.  Possibly, they are cousins. Both are Diné and both artists sometimes use micaceous clay.  Mason is an exceptional potter and produces pottery of an elegant and simple style without decoration on the body of the vessel.  In this lidded jar, she placed a bird sitting on a nest on the lid. The jar is signed A. Mason on the underside.

Condition: this Navajo Pottery Jar with Bird on Lid by Diné Artist Alberta Nofchissey Mason is in original condition

Provenance: Previously from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, collectors of Navajo art and authors of books on Navajo folk art; now from the collection of the client to whom we sold it in 2013.

Recommended Reading:  The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art by Chuck and Jan Rosenak