The Dr. Samuel R. Poliakoff Collection of Western Art

While many Santa Clara potters make carved pottery and use the Avanyu, or water serpent, as a central design element, Naranjo’s flowing depiction of the Avanyu is distinctive. Her Avanyu moves and morphs around the jar, sometimes water and sometimes serpent. The Avanyu is an important being in Santa Clara oral tradition, helping to guide people to the water that she also protects. Potters create red polished pottery using the exact same materials and process that are used for black pottery. The difference resulting in red is that potter did not smother the firing with crushed dung, but allowed air to circulate through the firing.