Lidia Renteria Mata Ortiz Blackware Crow Effigy Jar, Hand-Sculpted View Watchlist >
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Lot # G381
System ID # 30231507
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Lidia Renteria Mata Ortiz Blackware Crow Effigy Jar, Hand-Sculpted
A hand-sculpted blackware effigy vessel by Lidia Renteria of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, rendered as a crow with the body of the pot forming the bird's rounded torso. A modeled beak projects sharply from one side with a raised, ringed eye detail, while fine incised lines fan across the shoulders and neck in dense diagonal strokes to suggest layered plumage. The high-shouldered form flares to a rolled rim at the crown. The surface carries the deep, burnished graphite-black finish characteristic of reduction-fired blackware, with a lustrous sheen over the smooth lower body and matte contrast in the carved feather work — a deliberate interplay of texture that gives the piece its depth. Signed "Lidia Renteria" on the underside.
Renteria is a recognized potter from the village of Mata Ortiz (Nuevo Casas Grandes), Chihuahua, Mexico, working within the movement founded by Juan Quezada in the early 1970s. That revival drew directly from the ancient ceramic tradition of Casas Grandes (Paquimé) — a pre-Columbian center that flourished roughly 900–1450 CE and produced some of the most technically accomplished pottery in the prehistoric Southwest. Renteria specializes in blackware, using traditional hand-building and stone-burnishing techniques followed by reduction firing to achieve the signature graphite-black surface. Her work has appeared in galleries and collections focused on contemporary indigenous and folk art of northern Mexico and the greater borderlands region. Effigy vessels — where the form of the jar and the body of the animal are unified rather than decorated — represent a sculptural ambition that goes beyond the painted tradition Mata Ortiz is best known for, and crow effigies in particular carry cultural resonance across Pueblo and Mesoamerican traditions alike.
CONDITION
Excellent with no damage. The burnished surface is clean and consistent throughout, and the modeled beak, raised eye, and incised feather detail are all crisp with no losses.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- 4" H × 4.5" W × 5" D
- Signed "Lidia Renteria" to underside
- Origin: Mata Ortiz (Nuevo Casas Grandes), Chihuahua, Mexico
- Technique: Hand-built, stone-burnished, reduction-fired blackware
- Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included
