Description

This beautiful very rare olla is of a classic Carlos Dunlap design with geometric designs of clouds, flowers and rain. It was hand coiled and polished in the traditional manner using the polishing stones handed down through the family. Cream slip has been applied to the entire body of the jar, with the exception of the red natural clay lower portion at the base. Carlos only began creating polychrome pieces just a few months before his untimely death. This is an extremely rare piece.

The polychrome painting is very finely done in vegetal paints that have been mixed by hand, again in the traditional manner. There is an unusual bit of black bee weed paint at the lower band just above the red slip. This splotch occurred after polishing and appears to be where Carlos hit the pot with his yucca paint brush. He seems to have deliberately attempted to make a mistake a little more interesting by making it look like an added design. It was fired with the pot

Carlos Dunlap began creating pottery at an early age. Carlos was considered an excellent potter and pottery painter and destined to follow in Maria’s footsteps. He is known for his classic polychrome plates, his use of traditional designs on large pieces, and his creation of the Brown-on-brown ware to compliment Maria’s beautiful Black on black ware. Unfortunately, Carlos died at only 23 years old in a car crash, cutting short his career, and as a result his pottery is highly sought after and becoming increasingly rare and valuable.

Condition: Original condition – excellent for its age. There is a small mark that appears to be a spill in the upper third of the jar (see picture). This was made by the artist at the time of painting.
Provenance: Purchased from a private collector from Colorado.