This is a striking large bowl by Mela Youngblood.  She was a daughter of Margaret Tafoya and began making pottery in the late 1960s and quickly achieved a distinctive style for her work.  Each piece of her work very highly polished and very deeply carved.  This bowl is carved with a water serpent encircling the piece.  The body of the avanyu (water serpent) has cloud and rain designs.  Note the depth of the carving on the bowl!  It is fully polished and fired a deep black.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Mela Youngblood”.  It is beautifully polished and classic in design.