Wedding vase

$25.00$99.00

In stock

STORY OF THE WEDDING VASE

Usually a week or two before they are married by a priest, the future husband’s parents make the Wedding Vase.

When the vase has been made, the husband, along with his parents and all his relatives go to the bride’s house. The bride brings out everything she will need to establish their new home together: clothing, utensils, mattress, moccasins, corn and any other homemaking essentials, including her white manta wedding dress.

The parents of both the bride and the groom give the young couple advice to help them have a happy and successful marriage.

Indian holy water is placed in the wedding vase, and the vase is turned around and given to the bride.

She drinks from one side of the vase, turns it around again, and gives it to the groom, who then drinks from the opposite side. This ceremony unites them as one.

The couple will treasure the Vase throughout their married life. Should one of them outlive the other, the remaining person will give the vase to a couple known to be living a happily married life.

The wedding vase is treasured and protected always-it is never broken, discarded or destroyed.

As told by Margaret Gutierrez, Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico.

Description

 

No two wedding vases are alike

Ceramic art wedding vases are made by hand will have minor variations in size and shape.  Due to the varying conditions of the Raku process, each wedding vase is unique.  No piece will look exactly like the picture from the catalog or website.  The colors in copper matte vary and may include: copper, blue, silver, gold, magenta, green and brown.  Despite efforts to create the most beautiful Raku finishes possible, occasionally some items will arrive with minor imperfections such as small scars, specks, cracks or pin holes in the glaze.  These imperfections are unavoidable in the Raku process and add to the character and uniqueness of the Raku art piece.  Copper in the matte Raku glaze may react over time in the atmosphere and could slowly turn green. To best preserve the finish, Raku pieces with copper based glazes should be kept in a dry environment and out of direct sunlight.

Raku Process

Each wedding vase is fired in an outdoor kiln to 2000 degrees F. It is then pulled from the red hot oven and plunged into a sand pit with wood shavings. The red hot vessel causes the shavings to ignite.  After the flames reach their maximum height, I cover the inferno with a metal drum.  The unique manner in which the fire burns each time creates the unique splashing of colors from the copper glaze on the Raku wedding vase. The intense change in temperature from the red hot kiln to the outdoor atmosphere shocks the glaze, causing cracks.  The smoke penetrates any unpainted parts of the ceramic art, turning it black.  The black lines in the crackle are from the smoke penetrating the fissures in the transparent glaze.

 

Wedding Vase

The Wedding Vase is an ancient vessel still used in traditional Native American wedding ceremonies. One spout of the vessel represents the husband; the other, the wife. The looped handle represents the unity achieved with marriage. The space created within the loop represents the couples’ own circle of life.

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