Polychrome Seed Pot with Rabbit and Quail Designs

Joseph Lonewolf's Miniature Marvel: A Masterpiece in Sgraffito

This exquisite miniature seed pot is the work of Joseph Lonewolf, a master potter from Santa Clara Pueblo. Crafted in 1985, this piece is a testament to Lonewolf's mastery of the sgraffito style, a technique he popularized and perfected over many years. By this point in his illustrious career, Lonewolf was operating at the pinnacle of creative and technical prowess.

Breaking away from convention, Lonewolf chose not to center his designs around the top of the pot. Instead, he crafted a scene that faces to one side, creating a unique visual narrative. At the heart of this narrative is a Mimbres rabbit, flanked by a pair of quails that reach up and arch over the rabbit in a harmonious display.

The back half of the pot features a beautifully polished red slip that ascends almost to the top. This backdrop serves as a canvas for a delicate tableau of butterflies, flowers, and a star design, all carved with precision and finesse into the surface. Lonewolf's use of white, green, and light blue pigments enhances the composition, adding layers of depth and energy to the piece.

Despite its modest size, this seed pot is ambitious in its execution, embodying the spirit of Lonewolf's craftsmanship. It stands as a testament to the artist's ability to create grandeur in the smallest of forms, making it a true masterpiece in miniature.

The bottom of the pot is signed Joseph Lonewolf, marked with the artist's hallmark wolf face, numbered N1QRCM, and dated 85.

Joseph Lonewolf (1932 - 2014) was an artist from Santa Clara Pueblo. Lonewolf was a nephew of Margaret Tafoya. He started a career as a mechanic and then became a trained machinist, making precision parts with fine engraving. It was this skill that he transferred from mechanical objects to precision-carved pottery. In 1971, Lonewolf returned to Santa Clara Pueblo and put his skills to making pottery as had been taught to him by his mother, Agapita Silva Tafoya. His father, Camilio Tafoya, had taken him as a child into the mountains where he witnessed petroglyphs carved into caves and on walls of cliffs. Lonewolf took the lessons of his mother and field trips with his father and combined the two to arrive at intricately carved designs on pottery.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Polychrome Seed Pot with Rabbit and Quail Designs is from a private collection

Reference and Recommended Reading: The Pottery Jewels of Joseph Lonewolf by Jon Young. 1975 Dandick Publications

TAGS: Margaret Tafoya,  Santa Clara Pueblo, pottery, Agapita Silva Tafoya, Camilio Tafoya, Rick Dillingham, Joseph Lonewolf