Black Carved Jar with Avanyu Design by Margaret Tafoya [SOLD]

In the mid-twentieth century, Margaret produced many very large pottery vessels and then in the 1960s-1970s, she produced many smaller vessels such as this jar.  Not only was she capable of creating a beautiful vessel shape but she obtained a smooth finish and high burnish and then proceeded to execute a precise carved design.

The design is a stylized Avanyu (water serpent) rotating in a counterclockwise direction.  The small triangle is the eye of the Avanyu and the curved part of the head is the plume on the head. The four wave-like carvings are part of the serpent's body.

The body design is contained within upper and lower framing lines carved into the clay body.  

Condition: structurally the jar is in original condition but there are some abrasions to the burnish

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

Recommended Reading:  Born of Fire: The Pottery of Margaret Tafoya by Charles King