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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 4430399, member: 45&quot;]It is a factory-made souvenir made in Japan.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Several different versions of this type of pottery were popular souvenir items imported from Japan in the 1950s/1960s. They were sold all over the country, especially on and near Indian reservations. There were several companies that wholesaled them.&nbsp; They came with foil labels, a circular red one saying &quot;Lugenes, Japan,&quot; a white one with blue lettering saying NAPCO, or a green oval one saying &quot;Fairway, Made in Japan.&quot;&nbsp; The labels are usually missing.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for it being a &quot;wedding vase,&quot; here&#039;s the truth behind that.&nbsp; It&#039;s a form thoroughly documented in references, such as &quot;The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico&quot; by Jonathan Batkin.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was actually &quot;invented&quot; by JS (Jesus Sito) Candelario, an early Santa Fe curio dealer. He took the idea to Santa Clara potters and had them make the design to sell in his shop. He added the made up story and the name &quot;wedding vase&quot; to help sales.&nbsp; It obviously worked.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first Santa Clara &quot;wedding vases&quot; were made in 1900, but the idea quickly spread to other tribes and it became an iconic Indian pottery souvenir.&nbsp; Both Japan, and later China, produced them for the U.S. market.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Some Indian potters believed the story enough to repeat Candelario&#039;s story as the truth, and now it&#039;s repeated endlessly on line. But there are no documented “wedding vases” dating earlier than those commissioned by Candelario.&nbsp; The form itself is found in some early canteens, but they were not used as “wedding vases.”</p><p><br /></p><p>There are 573 federally recognized Indian tribes in the U.S., each with its own culture and customs.&nbsp; But none have any evidence of a traditional ceremony involving the &quot;wedding vase.&quot;&nbsp; However, there are stories that Indian couples have accepted the story enough to use &quot;wedding vases&quot; as part of their weddings today.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t witnessed that myself, so have no idea if it is true, or just a continuation of the myth.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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