Black Avanyu Carved Jar by San Ildefonso Pueblo Potter Rose Gonzales

This striking jar features a tall matte neck and a robust Avanyu carved in relief above the shoulder. The Avanyu, full of character, boasts a wide eye and a massive arrow-shaped tongue. The polished slip encircles the bottom half of the jar, highlighting the relief-carved figure, and reappears at the top of the rim adorned with a rain cloud and stepped design. Rose Gonzales' exceptional stone polishing has given the jar a gentle, beautiful sheen with a softly reflective quality. This piece stands out as one of Rose's finest works. Signed Rose on the bottom.

In the 1920s, San Ildefonso Pueblo artist Rose Gonzales (1900-1989) first mastered the creation of polished blackware pottery. She then learned the innovative black-on-black pottery technique, which involved using matte black paint for designs. Additionally, Rose embraced the traditional black-on-red pottery style, which was closely associated with Tonita Martinez Roybal (1892-1945) and her mother. Rose Gonzales is credited with pioneering deep carved pottery around 1930 at San Ildefonso. She often collaborated with her son, Tse-Pé, especially on duotone pieces.

Rose Cata Gonzales was originally from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan) Pueblo and married into San Ildefonso Pueblo. She was the sister of Pomasena Sanchez, the wife of Robert Gonzales, and the mother of Jose H. Rainbird Gonzales, Tse-Pé, and Marie Gonzales Yazzie. Rose learned pottery making from her mother-in-law, Ramona Sanchez Gonzales. Orphaned after her parents died during the swine flu epidemic, Rose and her sister, Pomasena, survived by attending the Santa Fe Indian School and being cared for by an elder relative, Mary Cata. Rose signed her pottery in various ways: Rose Cata, Rose Cata Gonzales, and Rosa Gonzales.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Black Avanyu Carved Jar by San Ildefonso Pueblo Potter Rose Gonzales is from the estate of a Santa Fe resident

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

TAGS: Ohkay Owingeh - San Juan Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Marie Gonzales Yazzie, pottery, Ramona Sanchez Gonzales, Tonita Roybal, Tse-Pé; Rose Cata Gonzales