While Blue Corn is often best known for her polychrome pottery, she began her career making black pottery. This is one of her earlier pieces from the 1950’s and it is deeply carved with an avanyu.  The style of the carving is much like that seen in other early San Ildefonso potters, with a “cameo style”.  The avanyu encircles the shoulder of the bowl and there are also deeply carved clouds.  The piece is highly polished and fired a deep black.  It is not often that we see such complex carved pieces of this size.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay “Blue Corn, San Ildefonso”.  The bowl is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.