Magnificent Tall Polished and Painted Pottery Jar

 This graceful form wears balanced design complimenting its handsome shape.

(1925-1999) Niece to Desideria Montoya and Maria Martinez, Carmelita Vigil's mother died at an early age. Her skilled aunts taught her to make pottery, as she spent a few months on and off with each of them.

Having won First Place in her division of pottery at Indian Market an unprecedented twenty times, Carmelita was designated a National Treasure during the Nixon administration.

All steps in pottery making (coiling, fashioning, sanding) Dunlap carried out with precision, because this all led to the way that the pot would look when completed.  After the designs were painted on the polished surface with slip, she fired her pottery in an outdoor open-air pit using wood and manure as fuel.