Lonewolf, Joseph – Large Seedpot with Birds, 16 Mimbres Figures and Fish (1979)

2.75"w x 2.75"h

$ 3,800.00

This is a spectacular large seedpot by Joseph Lonewolf. The piece is fully polished and fired red.   The seepot is from1979. From the top-down, there are eight interlocking birds on the top of the seedpot.  Note how they are surrounded by small etched circles in the matte area.  Around the center are sixteen Mimbres figures holding hands and encircling the jar.  They are wonderfully both ancient and futuristic in appearance!  Below are four medallions etched into the clay.  Each has a different Mimbres fish. The matte area around them has been more deeply etched into lines that seem to emanate from the fish.  They are exceptional in design and the overall piece is detailed and creative.  The seedpot is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Joseph Lonewolf”.   It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  

“It gives me a funny feeling when people tell me I’ve done something brand new and different. I’ve just figured out all over again what potters did centuries ago. But it is NOT new as people like to say it is. Such colors were achieved in pre-history times by my ancestors.  I regard the Mimbres as my ancestors. Though I refine their designs, each design must have meaning for me. In my dreams I see how to use the design, how to make the pot happen. Then when I work the clay, everything flows. Some people wonder why I keep changing styles, colors, forms. But I can’t just sit there and make pots. Like any artist I must try different things, different techniques. I must meet the challenge with my hands. The patterns and the methods I see in my mind during my dreams.”
—JOSEPH LONEWOLF, Spoken Through Clay