WOW!  This is an iconic, large, carved bowl 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 large bowl has a round shape, which creates a lot of volume space for design.  The central band has a deeply carved avanyu encircling the piece.  Note the complexity of the body in the design. The rim and base are both also fully polished. The designs also are also carved in the negative space from the rim to the base.  Teresita always challenged herself to create pieces with the most complexity.  Note as well the depth of the carving.  Again, Teresita would deeply carve her pottery, and her pieces from the 1980s are among her best when she was at her peak.  It is simply spectacular in person.  The entire surface is fully polished.  The bowl was traditionally fired a glassy black. The bowl is signed on the bottom, “Teresita Naranjo”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  There is a Blue Ribbon from the Arizona State Fair.

“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