WOW!  This is a spectacular, large jar by LuAnn Tafoya.  She is known for her highly polished traditional Santa Clara pottery.  This jar is one of her famous shapes with a high, round shoulder.  The side of the jar is very deeply carved with four panels of design.  This wide shape creates a large area of carved design.  The jar has interlocking mountain and cloud patterns followed by a mesa design.  I remember she told me that this design represents the clouds coming over the mountains, to the mesa steps.  Then there is lightning and rain falling over the mesas.  The jar has angular carving that captures this creative story.  The jar is highly polished and traditionally fired red.  The piece is surprisingly thin-walled for its size!  LuAnn said about her designs:

“Me, I carve after it’s all dry.  The line carved around the bottom is the “path” of the design. That’s how we were taught. Going to the kiva we go up the stairs. When you are in there you pray for rain. The path, it’s always on the pot, too. “  LuAnn Tafoya, Spoken Through Clay

LuAnn is one of the few potters making pieces of such quality and historic continuity.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “LuAnn Tafoya”.   It is an exceptional example of her skill, creativity, and commitment to traditional Santa Clara pottery.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  Definitely a piece of history in clay!