Zia Pueblo Medium Size Storage Jar [SOLD]

Tradition is a hallmark of life in the pueblos, whether in art or lifestyle.  It is not an accepted practice for an individual to seek personal attention for his or her accomplishments.  Yet, at the same time, potters at Zia Pueblo, starting around the mid-1800s, began to express a freedom of style in pottery designing, but still tempered to traditional ideas.  This continued into the 1930s.

This Zia storage jar is very traditional in vessel shape.  It has the rounded bottom of all storage jars, has a stone-polished underbody, a cream slip on which to place the design, and a wide red band under the design panel.  From this point, however, there is a departure—an individual expression of design.  Noted pottery expert, Frank Harlow, penned to Forrest Fenn, in an undated memo, that the jar had “Acoma design influence,” and said it was “probably circa 1920.”  Design ideas were seen to pass from pueblo to pueblo during this period.

The black-outlined one-inch red band in the decoration appears more like a pinned and draped ribbon rather than the traditional undulating band on most Zia jars.  The rectangular box attached to the ribbon, also in black-outlined red slip, has paired feathers suspended from its edges.  The triangles with fine lines and the Rain Bird spirals are an influence from Zuni pueblo which spread to many pueblos over the decades of the 19^th century.

This jar is unique and refreshing in its departure from ridged design styles of early 19^th century potters of Zia Pueblo. It is a true expression of a single individual who, quite possibly made it for her own use and chose to place on it a design for her own pleasure. Had it been made for sale, it is quite likely that the potter would have stayed with very traditional Zia designs.

Condition:  It appears that a V-shape wedge from the rim and down to the base broke off the jar.  It has been glued back in and overpainted on the exterior but the crack has been left visible on the interior so that it is easily viewable.  There is no evidence of plaster fill.

Recommended Reading:  The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon.  This out-of-print book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance: from a client in Santa Fe.  On the underside, written in felt tip pen, is Fenn Gallery, Santa Fe AYE4.