This is a classic deeply carved bowl by Harrison Begay, Jr..  He has won numerous awards over the years for his deep-carved pottery.  This bowl is round in shape.  There is a cloud pattern around the neck of the piece in matte. There are four bears around the body of the bowl, also matte.  Each bear is deeply carved with a heartline.  There is a single inset stone in each bear: turquoise, malachite, lapis, and coral.  The remainder of the bowl is fully polished.  It was fired a glassy black coloration.  Note as well the style of carving, which has a beveled appearance to the angle of the cuts into the clay. This is a very distinctive style of carving for his pottery.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Harrison, 00.”    It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  

Harrison has said of his pottery:

“My favorite part of the process is just thinking about it. I sometimes dream about my pieces. I will jump up in the middle of the night and say, “This is what I want to do.  The hands are those of the Creator. I like to keep with the traditional shapes.  I really enjoy the results of polish and the matte areas contrasting against one another.”. Harrison Begay, Spoken Through Clay