Sanchez, Russell – Polychrome Bowl with Avanyu, Carved Bear Lid, and 170 Inset Stones
$ 5,000.00
This is a striking polychrome lidded bowl by Russell Sanchez. He continues to be one of the true innovators and revivalists in Pueblo pottery. Each piece is perfectly coil-built, stone polished, and etched. The bowl has a round shape. The central band is polished with white clay and the bottom is polished red. The avanyu is etched into the clay before firing and then highlighted with additional red and black clay slips. The last photo shows the different clays Russell uses in a raw state. Note the little bear paw behind the horn of the avanyu, which is a signature for Russell’s pottery. There is a central band that is slipped with black clay. The red polished base has rain and mountain designs. The lid for the bowl has a bear carved in relief! The bear is fully polished red and even the edge of the legs is sculpted to a sharp point. The surrounding area is slipped black. The bowl and the lid have a total of 170 inset stones, most of which are turquoise, with a some black hematite. All the colors are derived from natural clays and inspired by historic San Ildefonso polychrome pottery (black/red/white), using many of the same clays! The colorations of black, red, and white are all seen in San Ildefonso’s pottery from the 1880s to about 1920. His deep red clay is another recent addition to his clay art starting around 2005. As Russell continues to innovate from historic designs, he says, “Tradition means moving forward and adding to it. You keep moving forward. If we stayed stagnant we would no longer exist.” The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Russell”. It is exciting to see how this imagery is not new but Russell’s reinterpretation of it both modernizes and revives.
In stock
This is a striking polychrome lidded bowl by Russell Sanchez. He continues to be one of the true innovators and revivalists in Pueblo pottery. Each piece is perfectly coil-built, stone polished, and etched. The bowl has a round shape. The central band is polished with white clay and the bottom is polished red. The avanyu is etched into the clay before firing and then highlighted with additional red and black clay slips. The last photo shows the different clays Russell uses in a raw state. Note the little bear paw behind the horn of the avanyu, which is a signature for Russell’s pottery. There is a central band that is slipped with black clay. The red polished base has rain and mountain designs. The lid for the bowl has a bear carved in relief! The bear is fully polished red and even the edge of the legs is sculpted to a sharp point. The surrounding area is slipped black. The bowl and the lid have a total of 170 inset stones, most of which are turquoise, with a some black hematite. All the colors are derived from natural clays and inspired by historic San Ildefonso polychrome pottery (black/red/white), using many of the same clays! The colorations of black, red, and white are all seen in San Ildefonso’s pottery from the 1880s to about 1920. His deep red clay is another recent addition to his clay art starting around 2005. As Russell continues to innovate from historic designs, he says, “Tradition means moving forward and adding to it. You keep moving forward. If we stayed stagnant we would no longer exist.” The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Russell”. It is exciting to see how this imagery is not new but Russell’s reinterpretation of it both modernizes and revives.
