Tafoya-Sanchez, Linda – Large Jar with Turtles

9"w x 9"h

$ 2,800.00

This new large by Linda Tafoya-Sanchez is stunning in design and polish.  The jar is a large piece with a lot of surface area for carving.  The top and bottom sections are fully carved and then stone polished.  They are carved with water and cloud motifs and note the thin lines of the carving!   Linda says that this style of her carving is inspired by the time she lived in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and their classic incised pottery.   The central band is carved with turtles of various sizes.  They are each polished and surrounded by a micaceous clay slip.  The added texture of the mica and the smooth surface of the turtles gives the jar a striking visual appearance.  Linda says of the use of turtles in her pottery:

“The turtles are the prayer and hope to bring some rain.  There is a Turtle Dance they do in San Juan (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo). You will see the turtle shells on the backs of their legs. Sometimes they don’t stay in the same direction and they start twisting, just like I’ve placed them in various directions on the pot. The San Juan linear designs here resemble the lightning and the strikes you see in the sky.” Linda Tafoya-Sanchez, Spoken Through Clay

The piece was traditionally fired a deep red coloration.  It is signed on the bottom, “Linda Tafoya-Sanchez”.