This is a spectacular large melon jar by Teresita Naranjo.  Teresita was a daughter of Christina Naranjo and was known for her deeply carved pottery.   Each piece was coil-built, carved, stone polished, and traditionally fired.  This jar is from the 1960s and is one of her few melon jars.  It has 12 carved ribs, each spirlaing around the piece.  Of course, the jar is highly stone polished and it was traditionally fired.  The result is a glassy black coloration that is accentuated with the angle of the swirls.  The jar is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repairs.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Teresita Naranjo”.

“Some of my pieces of pottery are polished inside as well as outside. When we do wrong, we are like my pieces of pottery that I leave rough inside. Even if we polish ourselves outside, we stay rough inside. All my pottery is fired in an open fire, which determines the color. I really do enjoy making pottery, for I know God has given me this talent and the patience to do it.”  —Teresita Naranjo, Spoken Through Clay