Water Jar

Alvina Yepa, one of the most renowed ceramists of the Pueblo of Jemez, built this vessel by hand from bisque-colored clay. She then covered its surface in a thin layer of liquified red clay, called slip, which she polished to a high luster. Yepa next carved away the red slip—a technique named sgraffito in Italian—to reveal the paler underlying clay and to create the intricate composition of flowers, leaves, vines, hummingbirds, and other motifs.