Small Zuni Jar, circa 1865-1875 [SOLD]

This is an extraordinary small Zuni jar with a base that evidences a puki foundation, a bulging mid body, and a graceful neck ending in a slightly flared rim. The decoration is monochromatic in brown paint and features elaborate volute designs.

This jar shows evidence of Ashiwi-like elements. The very small base was formed in a puki and has a concave bottom—as adopted from the Rio Grande Pueblos sometime in the mid 18^th century. Its very exaggerated mid-body section is a direct influence of the Ashiwi period of the mid 1700s.

The red underbody of Ashiwi pottery has given way to black in this jar—a change that occurred in the mid 18^th century.

Volute designs and crosshatching associated with the Rainbird elements frequently appear on Kiapkwa Polychrome examples of the early 1800s. This jar clearly imitates these elements. The incurving neck too is a prime feature of the Kiapkwa period (1750-1850).

With the body of an Ashiwi Polychrome, and neck and designs of a Kiapkwa Polychrome, we must date this small jewel sometime around the mid 1800s.

Provenance:
—ex.col. Alexander E. Anthony, Jr. who purchased it in 1995 from an individual who lived in a village located in the mountains just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.