This is a complex storage jar by Russell Sanchez.  The entire piece is fully polished and it has a wide shoulder and a short neck much like the shape of a classic San Ildefonso storage jar.  The base of the jar has 12 gourd indentions which are fully polished. The shoulder of the jar is exceptional in etched design with three San Ildefonso birds.  The bodies of the birds are etched into the clay and are inspired by the imagery of early San Ildefonso potters from the 1920s.  Note the use of checkerboard, hatchwork lines and classic sun patterns to create the bodies and bird feathers!  It’s is almost like a “starter course” in the exploration of the use of this imagery by early artists such as Rosalie & Joe Aguilar, Susana Aguilar, Tonita Roybal, and Juan Cruz.  There are two sections which are mica clay with small dots and they are surrounded by hematite hei-shi beads. The use of hematite is a traditional stone in San Ildefonso culture.  The jar has a deep black to gunmetal metallic shine.  This is one of those pieces that is not only visually impressive, but there is an additional tactile aspect.  Where one might expect the mica to have texture, it is so highly burnished it is perfectly smooth!  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, ‘Russell”.

Russell Sanchez: Contemporizing the Pueblo Pottery Past