This is an attractive little bowl from Navajo potter Lorraine Williams. Her signature is inscribed on the base, as are her initials “LW”.

The pot has Williams’ signature technique of incising designs into the clay—in this case, a mountain motif—then painting and native firing, followed up by a coating of pine pitch for waterproofing.

The colors are subtle — browns and rusty red.

It is in fair condition. It is not a museum quality piece. It has scratches on areas of the outside and the base is worn and cracked/flaked. The inside has crazing at the bottom. There is one place on the painted outside where the color is lighter. I don’t know if this was intentional. Also, the patterning ends at a point. It is not contiguous. This may have been inherent to her style. I do not know. Please refer to the photos.

It would make a nice addition to a Native American collection, especially one featuring female artists.

From the web:

“Lorraine Williams is one of the great innovators among Navajo potters. Lorraine married George Williams in 1977. George is the son of Rose Williams, one of the best-known Navajo potters. Lorraine was adept at making beads and sand paintings, and she was a weaver. “But when I married George, I saw pottery with new eyes.” Her new eyes led to Lorraine’s beginning with clay about 1980. Ultimately, Lorraine would make the largest pots produced at Navajo today. She has created her own unique pottery style incised with traditional rug and Navajo designs, then painted and native fired. After the piece is fired, it is covered in pine pitch, typical of all traditional Navajo pottery harkening back to when it was utilitarian. Lorraine has won numerous awards for her pottery and has been featured in books such as “A Legacy of Generations.””