This is a very detailed seedpot by Joseph Lonewolf. The piece is fully polished red and all the designs are etched into the clay before it is fired.  There is a Mimbres quail on one side and two realistic butterflies on the opposite side.  What is so intriguing is the two intertwined insects at the top. They are designed from a famous Mimbres bowl and the spiral is not just tightly etched but fully polished!  Along the side are additional flowers with incised centers.  The piece is highlighted with red, white, blue, and green clay slips!  That is a lot of color for this piece, which adds to its visual appearance. There is a small medallion near the base with a propellor, which is the yearly symbol for 1987. It 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

Deciphered: The Yearly Symbols of Joseph Lonewolf