This is a complex jar by Dolores Curran.  She continues to create intricately incised and painted pottery.  Her husband, Alvin Curran, inspired her to create these red polychrome incised and painted.  He was known for his incised San Juan-style pottery in the late 1990s.  This jar has a round, storage jar shape and a flat top.  The top and bottom are fully polished red. On the top there is a water serpent painted around the opening.  The bottom has dragonflies and prayer feathers.  The body of the jar is fully incised with designs.  There are two old-style hummingbirds on each side. The center of one of them has a painted dragonfly!  Separating them are rain clouds with prayer feathers.  All the various colors are from different clay slips.  The jar has a lid with a kiva step form. It is a perfect complement to the shape and design of the jar.  Using a larger vessel allows Dolores to create more subtlety in the colors.  All the colorations are from natural clay slips.  It is an extraordinary amount of time to create intricate pieces in design and use the various clay additions.   The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Dolores Curran”.

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