Polished Red Incised Bear with Turquoise by Tony Da [SOLD]

Tony Da, from San ildefonso Pueblo, was destined to become one of the finest artists of the 20th century. His grandparents, Maria and Julian Martinez, and his father, Popovi Da, were skilled artists. Tony was a painter from early in life, and was winning awards for his paintings. A change occurred when he moved in with his grandmother in 1966. She taught him the techniques of pottery making and he learned very well. Within three years, Maria said he had nothing else to learn from her.

Once Tony started making pottery, his creativity took over. He followed all the traditional techniques Maria had taught him, but he blossomed in departing from traditional shapes and designs. He was fond of the Mimbres culture and used their designs on much of his work.

Tony's first pottery pieces were bears. Maria commented that he was very good and she could not do anything to make him better, except that he needed to learn to make ollas, which, of course, he did. In 1982, Tony suffered massive head injuries in a motorcycle accident, which left him unable to continue his pottery career.

From published examples of his bear figurines, it appears that he made them starting in 1966 and continued making them into the late 1970s, perhaps even until his 1982 accident.

The upper body is stone-polished red slip and the underbody is natural unpolished, unslipped tan clay. Into the red slip, Tony carved a heart line from the bear's mouth to his rear. He inserted two pieces of turquoise on the bear's body and two pieces for eyes. He signed his traditional signature DA on one leg. The condition is excellent.

Large bears such as this are extremely rare. I am not aware of another one on the market at this time.

Recommended Reading:  The Life and Art of Tony Da by Charles King and Richard Spivey