Nineteenth Century Well-used Zia Pueblo Polychrome Pottery OLLA [SOLD]

For those collectors who relish collecting pottery that exhibits prior use at a pueblo home, this historic Zia Pueblo pottery jar is a true treasure. It is a mid-1800s example of Zia pottery at its most creative period before potters settled into using the Zia bird as a standard design element. Earlier jars, such as this one, clearly display the desire of the potter to create something of beauty for her own pleasure and the pleasure of her family to enjoy on a daily basis as it sat on display and in use in the kitchen. This jar has a beautiful large floral element not seen on vessels after the turn of the century. Pottery of the nineteenth century displayed a variety of designs, most of which were not used after the turn of the century, a loss attributed to potters giving in to the commercial market.

This extraordinary well-used olla from Zia Pueblo, created between 1840 and 1860 was coil-formed in native clay with the addition of crushed basaltic temper. The underbody was stone-polished bare paste in a warm brick red color. A wide red band was wiped on as a dividing line between the bare paste underbody and the decorated upper body.

The design field was slipped in a creamy white slip on which was painted four very large floral elements prominently displayed in Georgia O’Keeffe style.

The jar was used extensively as a water container for many years as evidence by the white ring of calcium deposit on the interior and some leaching of the calcium to the exterior. It is in excellent structural condition. 

Provenance: this Nineteenth Century Well-used Zia Pueblo Polychrome Pottery OLLA is from the collection of a client from Kansas City. who purchased it in 1986 from Gallery 10 of Scottsdale, AZ.

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

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo, Historic Pottery