Fine and Exuberant Zia Jar with Zuni Designs [SOLD]

Zia potters have been consistent in producing beautiful and strong pottery vessels, both for use in their homes and for sale to tourists.  Potters, today, still prefer to use ollas for water as the porous jars allow for seepage through the walls which cools the water.  The clay sweetens the taste of water.

Traditional shapes and decorative style have changed very little at Zia since the 1700s.  Tradition is hard to break.  

One must wonder why a potter, around 1890, would make a jar that resembles the shape of those made by the Tewa potters and then place on it designs that obviously are of Zuni origin. There is nothing to make one think this is a Zia jar, except for the tell-tale sign of basalt temper.  It is strikingly beautiful and certainly a work of art by a talented and creative potter.  If only we knew who she was or what made her depart from the traditions of Zia to create such a beautiful jar!

Francis Harlow selected this jar to publish in his book, Modern Pueblo Pottery 1880-1960, page 71.  Unfortunately, he did not speculate on why such a vessel shape and design were produced at Zia.  

Harlow and Lanmon, in their more recent book, The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, expanded on the use of Zuni designs by Zia potters during 1890-1930. They state (p.98)

“Ideas regarding design and form passed rather freely among the pueblos throughout their history.  Close-by villages were often of the same language group and shared their lines of ceramic evolution, especially prior to 1800. . . But there are some remarkable examples of long-distance stylistic influence occurring thereafter, almost surely resulting from the movement of people. . .We see, in particular, the transport of Zuni design ideas to Zia in the 1890s, but there is little evidence in the Zuni pottery styles of that period to indicate that the influence went both ways.”

It has been speculated by Harlow and Lanmon, that this jar, and possibly four other similar ones, were made by Juana Rosita Moquino/Galvan.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Fine and Exuberant Zia Jar with Zuni Designs was formerly in the collection of Dr. Robert and Kitty Whiteside, which was sold years ago (1972?) by Sotheby’s Auction in New York.

Currently from the collection of a family from Colorado

References:

- Harlow, Francis H. Modern Pueblo Pottery 1880-1960, Northland Press, Flagstaff. 1977

- Harlow, Francis H., and Dwight P. Lanmon. The Pottery of Zia Pueblo, School of American Research Press, Santa Fe. 2003