Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Pottery: vase

  • wcu_craft_revival-6399.jpg
  • This undated earthenware vase was made by Cherokee potter Maude Welch. Welch was born in 1894 near Cooper's Creek in the Birdtown section of the Qualla Boundary. Her pottery was formed entirely by hand and made from local clay. She used a variety of small knives to shape her clay pots and polished them by burnishing with a smooth stone. The coloration on her pots comes from burning them with different types of wood. In the 1930s, she taught pottery at the Cherokee Boarding School. Welch was the aunt of another prominent Cherokee potter, Louise Bigmeet Maney. This vase was formed with two decorative lug handles.