Zia Pueblo Polychrome Storage Jar with Birds [SOLD]

This polychrome storage jar was created by Helen Gachupin of Zia Pueblo. It's a large and well-crafted vessel with a balanced, symmetrical nature. The shoulder curves inward gently and the rim's slope is similarly soft. The walls are slightly thicker than that of an olla, which results in a piece that feels as substantial as it looks.

Gachupin's painted designs suit the vessel quite well. Two design bands appear, with a slim band circling the neck and a much wider band extending from the shoulder down to the orange-painted base. Within the wide band, a graceful, flowing composition appears twice, using spirals to frame Zia birds and semicircular elements. Triangles filled with cross-hatched lines emerge from the spirals, pointing inward toward one another. Curving orange vertical bands separate the two identical compositions. Gachupin was not a particularly prolific potter, but she was enormously skilled, and this beautifully made jar suggests that she was every bit as talented as her better-known contemporaries.

The bottom of the jar is signed Helen Gachupin, Zia.

Helen Gachupin (1931-1999) was a Zia Pueblo potter. During a career that began in the 1950s and ended in the 1990s, Gachupin created ollas, storage jars, canteens, and bowls, mostly featuring traditional Zia designs. She exhibited at Santa Fe Indian Market and the Albuquerque Museum. Today, her pieces are included in a number of museum collections, including the Heard Museum and the Peabody Museum. Her works were featured in a number of prominent publications during the 1980s.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Zia Pueblo Polychrome Storage Jar with Birds is from a private collection

Reference: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2000 Artist Biographies, Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo, Helen Gachupin