Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Pottery: vase

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  • This pottery vase was made in 1961 by self-taught Cherokee potter Rebecca "Amanda" Wolf Youngbird. A double-spouted vase, like this one, is known as a Cherokee wedding vase. The earthenware clay was shaped using the coil method, and was burnished, before before insicing the pattern into the clay. This overall design is a variation of the Friendship pattern. Born on the Qualla Boundary in 1890, she was sent away at the age of 13 to attend the Indian Industrial School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. When she returned to Cherokee, she became interested in pottery and began making pots circa 1915. She made her pottery using the coil method, moving upward from a clay base. She used a number of special knives to shape and finish her pieces and burnished them with a smooth stone. Youngbird is credited with introducing the wedding vase to Cherokee, having seen pueblo Indian potters making the form at a demonstration in 1930.