Zuni Pueblo Child’s Water Jar [SOLD]

This fine vessel seems to date to the early twentieth century. Undeniably Zuni in form, design, materials and character, this jar is an intriguing and atypical example of late Zuni artistry. The paste is typically Zuni, gray in color with a chunky texture, the temper being ground pottery shards.

The underbody and neck interior are black-slipped, with white stone-polished slip on the exterior body. This jar's design is suggestive of early historic Zuni pieces, particularly Ashiwi Polychrome (1700-1750) in the banded divination of the design plane, in conjunction with the diagonally oriented motifs and stepped elements.

The black rim-top is adjacent to the framing line, interrupted by a ceremonial break. In the underlying design field surrounding the collar neck, paired red and black stepped motifs alternate above and below, with the black elements connected at the base to the uppermost framing line.

The design field at mid-shoulder consists of repeated stick-figure elements, each with a red element at its apex, and black stepped elements at its end point. Below the shoulder design, the artisan repeated the design used around the neck.

The main body design repeats the stick-figure elements, each enclosed within triangles comprised of three parallel lines. Now, saving the best for last, could the black elements swimming in the white areas be whales?

Provenance: ex Cody Wyoming Collection