Wow.  This is a very complicated bowl 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 is the first kiva bowl we have had from her.  The name comes from the kiva step edge on the piece.  On this bowl it is fully designed on both the inside and outside!  The front of the bowl has the raised kiva step rim and three prayer feathers incised and painted into the clay.  Around the bowl are incised birds, flowers, and prayer feathers.  It is a very complicated and varied design.  On the inside of the bowl on the raised area, there are two birds, and a corn plant.  The open part of the bowl has carved feathers, sun, and clouds in the center. Surrounding that design is a turtle, dragonfly, and prayer feather patterns.  It is a very colorful and intricate series of designs.  All the various colors are from different clay slips.  The base is fully polished and has a section that is painted red-on-red.  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”.