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Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran (1953-1999) was part San Juan and part Quechan (a desert people living along the Colorado River between Arizona and California). At one year old he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents at San Juan.
He grew up at San Juan and eventually became the Chief of Police, a position he enjoyed greatly until his health deteriorated and prevented him from continuing in the job. That was when his mother-in-law convinced him to learn to make pottery.
With a wife like Dolores Curran, Alvin learned quickly and well. As the only male potter at San Juan for many years, his designs were meticulous and his pottery some the finest produced at San Juan in the last quarter of the 20th century.
Polychrome jar with four direction sunface and geometric design
3 1/2 in H by 6 1/2 in Dia
Polychrome bowl with sgraffito and painted geometric designs
3 3/4 in H by 5 in Dia
Polychrome jar with a band of sgraffito and painted geometric designs
3 3/4 in H by 3 1/2 in Dia
Polychrome jar decorated with lightly carved bugs, bear, birds and geometric designs
7 1/2 in H by 5 3/4 in Dia