Polished Red Avanyu Jar by Ramona Sanchez Gonzales c.1900

This finely made San Ildefonso Pueblo redware jar by Ramona Sanchez Gonzales is a beautiful example of her earlier work. It features a highly polished surface and an Avanyu, or water serpent, that wraps just above the shoulder of the jar. Along the rim, small scalloped raincloud designs add a delicate decorative touch.

The jar has a flat bottom, indicating it was not meant to carry water like traditional water jars. Instead, it likely had another purpose, possibly decorative. Its shape is unusual, with a narrower neck, wider base and a shoulder that sits at the midpoint.

Ramona Sanchez Gonzales (1885-1934) is best known for her polychrome lidded boxes, but this redware jar stands out as a special piece in her body of work. The Avanyu, a sacred symbol in San Ildefonso culture, represents the guardian of water and a bringer of storms — vital elements for life and farming in the desert.

The jar is signed on the bottom. Ramona was a respected potter of her generation and part of a well-known pottery family. She was the mother of Robert Gonzales, whose wife was Rose Gonzales, and the grandmother of Tse-Pé Gonzales. She was also the stepmother of Blue Corn (Crucita Gonzales Calabaza).

Condition: very good condition, with a vertical surface aberrations that do not detract from the jar's overall appearance

Provenance: This Polished Red Avanyu Jar by Ramona Sanchez Gonzales c.1900 is from the collection of a family from Albuquerque, New Mexico

Recommended Reading: Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: San Ildefonso Pueblo, Maria Martinez, Rose Gonzales, Tse-Pé Gonzales, Blue Corn  - Crucita Gonzales Calabaza, Ramona Sanchez Gonzales