Two Navajo Etched Pottery Vessels — F. Whitegoat & Nihoobaanii Bear Jar Pair

A pair of small Diné (Navajo) pottery vessels, each signed to the underside and demonstrating two distinct decorative traditions within contemporary Navajo ceramics. The larger jar is signed F. Whitegoat "Navajo" and features the horsehair raku technique — fine black tendrils fired into the clay surface where strands of horsehair were laid against the hot vessel — combined with etched sgraffito banding in blue and purple wash, with stepped pueblo motifs, meander frets, and stylized rain or grass patterns cut through the slip to reveal the terracotta body beneath. The smaller vessel is signed Nihoobaanii — the Navajo word for bear — and carries a matte black slip with an etched terracotta band depicting the heartline bear, a protective figure in Diné iconography, flanked by geometric stepped designs.

Both pieces are earthenware in the style produced by Navajo potters working out of the Four Corners region, where etched and horsehair wares have become a signature contemporary form. The pairing offers two complementary palettes — warm earthen tones with cool sgraffito accents alongside the graphic black-and-terracotta of the bear vessel — and reads well as a grouped display.

CONDITION

Good. No damage observed; light shelf wear consistent with display. Slip and etched detail remain crisp on both vessels.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Horsehair Jar (F. Whitegoat): 2 1/2" × 3 1/2"
• Bear Jar (Nihoobaanii): 4" × 3 1/2"
• Materials: Earthenware, etched slip decoration, horsehair raku (larger jar)
• Signatures: F. Whitegoat "Navajo" (larger jar, underside); Nihoobaanii / Dineh (bear jar, underside)