Cheyenne Jim (Diane Lynn) Diné Mica Clay Storyteller with Three Children View Watchlist >
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Lot # G453
System ID # 30303753
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Cheyenne Jim (Diane Lynn) Diné Mica Clay Storyteller with Three Children
Attributed to Cheyenne Jim (Diane Lynn), a self-taught Diné artist of the Navajo Nation working in the Taos Pueblo storyteller tradition, this hand-built figure carries the unmistakable markers of her hand — the seated female form, eyes closed mid-song, three singing children gathered against her lap. The body is mica clay, terra cotta-slipped over a natural buff ground, dressed in a manta with a hand-textured fringed hem and applied clay rosettes inset with pale turquoise-toned glaze. A real feather headdress rises from the crown, and the figure wears a genuine turquoise cabochon pendant flanked by four applied sterling silver concho buttons. Signed in marker on the base: "Cheyenne Jim."
Cheyenne Jim's storytellers stand apart for their cross-cultural voice — a Diné artist raised in Navajo tradition, working in a Pueblo idiom, incorporating feathers, leather, and real silver findings into forms that are entirely her own. Her range and refusal to follow a single lineage is deliberate; she has said "a true artist has no tradition to follow, only the freedom to create and be innovative." At just over 13 inches with a three-child composition, intact featherwork, and genuine silver and turquoise elements, this is a fully realized example of her signature style.
History
Diane Lynn was raised in a rich Diné cultural tradition and was deeply impressed by a Yei Be Chei ceremony she attended as a young girl alongside her grandmother, Aasdzaan Doo'al hoshii, a Diné medicine woman. Self-taught through observation, she builds her storytellers from mica clay. She has won numerous awards and is listed in the National Museum of the American Indian — an institutional credential uncommon at regional auction.
CONDITION
Excellent. No damage noted. Featherwork intact, silver conchos and turquoise cabochon secure, terra cotta slip and applied detail crisp throughout.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 13 1/4" H × 5 1/4" W × 6" D
- Weight: 7 lbs 2.9 oz
- Body: Hand-built mica clay, terra cotta slip
- Applied elements: 4 sterling silver concho buttons, 1 turquoise cabochon, natural feather headdress
- Signed "Cheyenne Jim" in marker on base
- Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included
