This is a classic miniature water jar by Teresita Naranjo.  Teresita was a daughter of Christina Naranjo and know for her deeply carved pottery.   Each piece was coil built, carved, stone polished, and traditionally fired.  This jar is the classic water jar shape with a double shoulder (or rainbow ridge” and two bear paws.  The bear paws are impressed into the clay before polishing. The jar is very highly polished and traditionally fired a deep black.  It’s great to see a piece that has such a great shape and polish in this size!  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “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