Lonewolf, Joseph – Rabbit and Rabbit Hunters (1987)

1.25"w x 1.25"h

$ 1,400.00

This seedpot by Joseph Lonewolf is from 1987 and it is highly polished and fired black.  The design has two Mimbres inspired figures who are hunting a rabbit.  One is holding a “rabbit stick” and the other has just thrown his.  The opposite side has a Mimbres rabbit etched into the clay.  All the various colors are derived from natural clay slips.  Near the base is an incised butterfly.  The 1987 symbol, the Propeller of Life, is also etched into the design.  The piece is very highly polished and intricately designed.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay.  It is in very good 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