Very Large Cochiti Pueblo Storage Jar [R]

It is always intriguing to attempt to determine who the potter is when one acquires an outstanding and very large storage jar, especially a storage jar from Cochiti Pueblo, because it is accepted that few potters at Cochiti specialized in vessel shapes as most made figurines. A few potters who have been identified as makers of large storage jars are Reyes Q. Romero, Estefanita Herrera, Antonia Quintana, Agrapina Quintana, and Ignacita Arquero, all of whom potted between 1910 and 1940.

We are making no attempt to attribute this jar to the extraordinary talent of any one of these potters as misidentification is quite likely, having not seen sufficient examples of their work. Suffice it to say the jar was made by a very talented potter and it probably dates to the second quarter of the twentieth century.

The volute design with clouds at the ends of each volute is based on 19^th century pottery examples so it must be a traditional Cochiti design concept. The parallel rows of thin dashes leaves me baffled as I know of no explanation for them. I have found no documented Cochiti pots with such dashes in published literature, so perhaps it is the unique design of a single potter.

The jar is in excellent condition and does not appear to have been used extensively before being sold to a collector. The interior and exterior of the jar are pristine. It is an excellent jar from a pueblo that is not known for 20^th century vessels.