Polychrome Bowl with Avanyu signed Lela/Van [SOLD]

Lela Naranjo Gutierrez (1895-1966) and her husband Van (c1870-1956) were innovative potters at a time when most potters at Santa Clara were content to make black or red pottery.  Lela and Van developed a beautiful multi-colored palette unlike any other potters.  All their colors were from nature and not of a commercial nature.

This bowl is designed with the traditional Avanyu seen on many black or red pots from Santa Clara and San Ildefonso, but rendered in beautiful colors of red, green, brown, peach, blue and black.  The Avanyu wraps completely around the body of the jar and appears to be exhaling flames.  The Avanyu is a mythological creature who lives under the water and delivers water to the fields through the arroyos. 

Condition: very good condition with insignificant loss of paint.

Recommended Reading: Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Provenance: from the collection of a family from Alexandria, Virginia