This is a striking jar by Linda Tafoya-Sanchez.  This jar has a round shape with a short neck, and it is fully carved. The shape and design give it the “Basket Weave” name. The jar is carved with 210 diamond-shaped areas.  Most are matte but one band is polished.  Separating the others are longer fully polished “lightning” bands.  The design is meant to look like a basket.  The contrast of the matte and polished surfaces works perfectly for this design.  The rim of the jar is fully polished.  The piece was traditionally fired to a glassy black coloration.  Congrats to Linda for taking the time to create such a creative and beautiful jar! It is signed on the bottom, “Linda Tafoya-Sanchez”.

The story of the Water Serpent as told by Toni Roller:

“The water serpent, we were told, it represents life. It represents the water, which is important to life, to people, plants, and animals. The water design is very important to put on pots to honor that serpent. We used to ask, “What is the water serpent?” We were told the water serpent is in the rivers, the big rivers. At one time, when my mother was young, there were no bridges to cross over the Rio Grande. They were always told that if you see a water serpent, your life is going to be long. She did see one laying on the rock. She said it was huge, snakelike, and she said she just stared at it and couldn’t holler for anyone else to see. If you look at the serpent design, it has all the weather designs. The lightning on the tongue of the serpent, and there are mountain designs and rain designs and all the weather elements. .”  Toni Roller, Spoken Through Clay

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