Polychrome Longneck Jar, circa 1962 [R]

Lela Naranjo Gutierrez (1895-1966) and her son Luther Gutierrez (1911-1987) collaborated on pottery following the death of Lela’s husband, Van, in 1956. Lela and Van were true innovators at Santa Clara Pueblo. They specialized in pictorial designs in a variety of hues and colors not normally associated with pueblo pottery. Luther continued in his father’s style. In this tall neck jar, Luther painted an Avanyu (Water Serpent) encircling the lower vessel body and a band of interconnected hooks just below the neck.

There has been some rubbing of the painted area due to the age of the vessel. It is not distracting, but is evident. There are also a few scratches throughout the vessel.

Provenance: From a private collector in Germany. Published in Indianische Kunst im 20.Jahrhundert. Herausgegeban von Gerhard Hoffman. Prestel-Verlag München. 1985.