Seal, Shows Mica Wash

Label

Micaceous clay contains tiny inclusions of the mineral mica throughout. Because of its strength and natural heat retention, it has been used historically by Pueblos and other communities to seal their pottery for use in cooking and storage. Lonnie Vigil uses the natural distribution of sparkling mica flecks to transform his vessel from utilitarian pot into fine art. Vigil credits the guidance of his great-grandmother, great-aunts, the Earth Mother, and ancestral spirits in his refinement of the ceramic techniques passed down to him. The seal, made by an unknown artist, is more of a tourist souvenir, in which the micaceous clay is also used for decorative purposes.

From the 2022 exhibition Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, curated by Dillen Peace '19, Native American Art Intern and Sháńdíín Brown '20, Native American Art Intern 

Course History

ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022

Writing Program 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Writing Program 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Exhibition History

Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 2022-March 12, 2023.

Provenance

Collected by the Joint Expedition, Dartmouth College Museum and New Mexico, by Director Alfred P. Whiting (1912-1978), Summer of 1958.

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