WOW!  This is an exceptional seedpot by Joseph Lonewolf.  In 1977-78 he created the majority of his relief carved pieces.  That implies that the pieces are carved at multiple levels as well sgraffito designs and various colors of clay.  Starting from the top of the piece.  The red polished rabbit is has a Mimbres rabbit in matte carved behind it!  You can feel the difference in dimension.  The tan is the natural color of the clay, and it feels like a “shadow” of the realistic rabbit.  Then the next level down are the small circles in blue and the larger eagle feathers that extend over the side.  If you look closely, each feather is incised, and the tips are tan.  There are vertically etched lines in the clay in another layer lower on the seedpot.  Below the rabbit is an etched section with three bees highlighted in green.  One bee is inside a bear track.  Amazing the detail and time put into a piece like this!  They are always among my favorites of his pottery style.  Overall there are green, white, and blue clay slips used on the piece.  The seedpot is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Joseph Lonewolf” and his hallmark.   It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  

“Working with clay requires feeling and patience. Regardless of how much time I spend on a pot, if one hairline crack appears in the very last step, the firing, I know that spiritually I have done something wrong. I haven’t kept the faith. The pot must be destroyed, and all the work has been in vain.” Joseph Lonewolf, 1978, Austin Citizen

Deciphered: The Yearly Symbols of Joseph Lonewolf