Youngblood, Nancy – Lidded Jar with Avanyu, Dragonflies and Six Shells

3.5"w x 7"h (w/ lid)

$ 10,500.00

This is a complex and elegant jar by Nancy Youngblood.  It combines a variety of her designs on one piece.  The jar has both a male and female avanyu, one on either side. Nancy said of her water serpents:

“The curved-down horn is the female avanyu and the kiva-step horn is the male avanyu. I love to carve. That is my favorite process in the whole pottery making.”  Nancy Youngblood, Spoken Through Clay

Separating them are two large dragonflies.  Note the complexity of each dragonfly and how the wings and bodies are carved. Each carved section is another “rib” which has to be fully polished!  Near the base, there are six shells. The shells each have 12 rounded ends, which, again, have to be fully polished.  The lid has a waterfall inspired melon swirl that extends down to the base of the lid.  The entire piece is highly polished and fired a deep, glassy black coloration.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Nancy Youngblood”