WOW!  This is an iconic, large, carved jar by Teresita Naranjo.  Teresita was a daughter of Christina Naranjo and was known for her deeply carved pottery.   Each piece was coil-built, carved, stone-polished, and traditionally fired.  The jar is one of her classic forms with a low, round shoulder and sloping sides.  The neck has 22 carved feathers, each perfectly symmetrical. The body of the jar has an avanyu encircling the piece. Note how the body of the avanyu has both swirling curved sections and very angular sections.  Teresita always challenged herself to create pieces with the most complexity.  Note as well the depth of the carving.  Again, Teresita would deeply carve her pottery, and her pieces from the 1980s are among her best when she was at her peak.  It is simply spectacular in person.  The entire surface is fully polished.  The jar was traditionally fired a glassy black. The bowl is signed on the bottom, “Teresita Naranjo”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

“Some of my pieces of pottery are polished inside as well as outside. When we do wrong, we are like my pieces of pottery that I leave rough inside. Even if we polish ourselves outside, we stay rough inside. All my pottery is fired in an open fire, which determines the color. I really do enjoy making pottery, for I know God has given me this talent and the patience to do it.”  —Teresita Naranjo, Spoken Through Clay