Jemez Pueblo Very Large Storage Jar [R]

Mary Small is one of the very few potters who today will even attempt to make very large vessels. This large storage jar—almost 17 x 17 inches—is an exceptional piece. It is extremely thin walled and beautifully decorated in orange and gray over a white slip. She inserted 8 turquoise cabochons evenly spaced around the shoulder of the jar.

Mary Small creates traditional and contemporary pottery with unique gray slip and polychrome designs.  This is a technique she created and has been producing for a couple decades and it has been well received by collectors.

Her awards are numerous—1^st Place at Santa Fe Indian Market in 1981; 1^st Place at Powhatan Renape Nation Indians Arts Festival; Heard Museum; New Mexico State Fair; Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial; Indian Arts & Crafts Association Show; and Fine Arts Enterprises Show, among others.

Condition:  there are just a couple small areas at the widest dimension where the paint has been rubbed, probably by being pushed against a wall or some similar event. Otherwise, it is in original condition.

Provenance: from the collection of Jeffrey Trent

Recommended Reading:  Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies c. 1800-Present (American Indian Art Series) by Gregory and Angie Schaaf