Zia Pueblo Polychrome Double-rainbow design Olla [SOLD]

In checking photographs in the book The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, we found only one example of a Zia bird with black parallel lines in its wings and that one was made by Seferina Bell in 1935.  Based on that, we feel we can say that this jar was probably made by Seferina Bell in the late 1930s or early 1940s before she started signing her pottery with her hallmark bell symbol.  Bell was born in 1920 and could have been an accomplished potter by the end of the 1930s at an age of 20 years.  She apparently started signing her potter in the 1940s.

The jar is typically thick-walled as is the custom at Zia Pueblo.  The cream slip that serves as the background for the design was rag polished to a smooth finish.  The double rainbows are outlined in black and the birds and associated designs are painted in black.  There is a black rim, a single black framing line at the rim and double framing lines near the base.  Each framing line features a ceremonial break. 

Seated above the dip of the upper rainbow is a capped feather structure in stepped format with the black caps pointing upward.  There are two of these on opposing sides of the jar and two birds on opposing sides.  The design was expertly applied as would be expected of a younger potter.

Condition: structurally in excellent condition with only some minor abrasion of paint.

Provenance:  from a collector in California

Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon