This is a complex, small lidded jar by Russell Sanchez.  The jar has a round shoulder and an elongated neck.  It is fully polished a deep red coloration.  The jar is etched with an avanyu encircling the piece. The background area is slipped with black clay.  There are 64 inset pieces of turquoise on the avanyu and around the jar.  There is a band of copper leafing and two strands of hei-shi beads.  The jar has a fully polished red lid with a single piece of turquoise.  The turquoise represents the Winter Clan. The bowl and lid are both signed “Russell”.

As Russell has said:

“I’m a traditionalist all the way through.  Innovation is part of our tradition. You use the same materials and tools that you have, and the same design elements, and the Clay Mother will come through you for what she wants you to do,” he explains. “Instead of doing the same cloud pattern or serpent pattern, you take that and make it your own. So, in fact, everything I’m doing is old, but new.”  Russell Sanchez, Southwest Art Magazine