Naranjo, Nicolasa & Roberta – Jar with Avanyu and Rain Designs (1980s)

Nicolasa Naranjo was a daughter of potter Tomasita Tafoya Naranjo and a niece of Margaret Tafoya.  She created a wide variety of pieces over the years of her pottery career, including polychrome pieces as well as black-on-black pottery.  In the 1980s and ’90s, she was often helped by her daughter, Roberta Naranjo (1946-2001).  This jar has a round body with a sharp shoulder and an elongated neck.  Around the body of the piece is a water serpent (avanyu) that is painted with cloud patterns.  The neck of the jar has rain and lightning designs.  It was fired a dark black.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nicolasa + Roberta”.