This an extraordinary seedpot by Joseph Lonewolf.  It is from 1989 and it is highly polished and fired red.  On one side there is a human figure, depicted painting a Mimbres deer on a bowl. The figure is highly detailed and cut into the clay at various levels.  Surrounding the figure are five Mimbres animals.  There is a deer, antelope, Big horn sheep, elk, doe.  They are each polished red and etched with designs in the center.  The designs are highlighted with red, green, and white clay slips.  What is hard to see in the photos is the background color.  It is a soft blue/red/gray coloration that works perfectly with the deep red.  I’ve never seen this color before for the background and it works perfectly!  Look below the figure, and there is another tiny Mimbres deer along with a realistic butterfly!  The 1989 yearly symbol is the “Ankh”.  The piece is very highly polished and intricately designed.  It is signed on the bottom, “Joseph Lonewolf”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. 

Joseph Lonewolf said of his use of Mimbres imagery in his pottery:

“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, 1974, Spoken Through Clay