Seldom Seen Large Hand-Coiled Navajo Pottery Mary Saxon -YeiBiChei NightDancers For Sale

Authentic Hand-Coiled Navajo Pottery Jar by Mary Saxon – Monumental 12\" x 10.5\" – Featuring YeiBiChei Night DancersThis rare, museum-quality Navajo pottery jar was entirely handmade by renowned Diné artist Mary \'AH SO\'BAAH\'Saxon, whose work reflects both technical mastery and cultural reverence. Measuring 12 inches wide by 10.5 inches tall, this piece is a commanding example of traditional Navajo ceramic artistry, created using native clay gathered from Navajo land, then coil-built, stone-polished, hand-painted with natural earth pigments, and pit-fired in the traditional method.Above the upper shoulder of the jar, ten intricately painted YeiBiChei Night Dancers encircle the vessel in rhythmic movement. These ceremonial figures represent the masked dancers of the sacred Night Chant (YeiBiChei ceremony)**—a complex nine-night healing ritual that restores harmony between the individual and the universe. Each figure is rendered in bold black mineral pigment with symbolic lightning patterns and feathered adornments, emphasizing vitality, balance, and ceremonial power. The dancers are framed below by a striking geometric arrowhead band, a classic design element symbolizing protection and movement. The natural clay body is finished with a rich warm red and buff tones, giving the surface a luminous, tactile quality that enhances the depth of the painted forms.
About the Artist:Mary Saxon was born in the Crownpoint, New Mexico area and later lived in Albuquerque. She gained recognition for her finely painted slip-cast Pueblo designs but later transitioned to creating rare, fully handmade pottery—a rarity in her body of work. In the late 1970s, she won **Best of Show** at the New Mexico State Fair for one of her large, rounded painted jars. This particular piece is dated 1979 and was purchased directly from the artist, making it a highly collectible and personally connected acquisition.Her work stands apart for its incredibly precise hand painting, expert knowledge of ceremonial symbolism, and the care with which she honored traditional Navajo methods.
**About the YeiBiChei Night Chant:**The Night Chant (Nightway Ceremony) is one of the most sacred and complex healing ceremonies of the Navajo tradition, first performed in Canyon de Chelly and dating back centuries. Conducted over nine nights, it involves hundreds of memorized chants, intricate sand paintings, sacred dances, and ceremonial rites—led by a medicine man who has spent years mastering its practice. The YeiBiChei dancers represent spiritual intermediaries and are central to the ceremony’s healing power, believed to restore harmony within the individual and their relationship to the cosmos.
Highlights:- Dimensions: 12\" W x 10\" H- Medium: Hand-coiled, stone-polished, pit-fired clay with natural mineral pigments- Design: Ten YeiBiChei Night Dancers with geometric border- Provenance: Acquired directly from Mary Saxon in 1979- Condition: Excellent; no chips, cracks, or repairs
- Signed: \"AH SO\' BAAH NAVAJO MARY SAXON 79\" on the baseThis jar is a rare and culturally significant piece of Navajo ethnographic pottery—especially rare as one of the few known fully handmade works by Mary Saxon. It is an ideal acquisition for advanced collectors of Native American art, museum curators, or those seeking a powerful, one-of-a-kind expression of Navajo heritage.
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COA: Certificate of Authenticity Included