Grace Medicine Flower began her career making miniature pottery with incised designs.  This jar is from 1992.  This was an important period for her clay art when she began to make larger vessels with smaller incised areas.  She went back to the early work of her father, Camilio Tafoya, and began to carve her pottery. The entire surface is fully polished.  She also began to carve the rim of her vessels, which is technically very difficult, as it can break in the drying or polishing stage.  This jar has a fully carved top with two butterfly medallions.  Note how the carving does not end at the shoulder but extends over the side!  The bottom is fully etched with three butterflies and plant designs.  It is a complex piece for the size!  The jar is very highly polished and fired a deep red.  Interestingly, Grace did all of her etching/sgraffito in the clay before the pieces were fired, which added to their overall difficulty.  The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Grace Medicine Flower”.   It is intricate, elegant and a stunning piece of history.