Zia Pueblo Upright Pottery Canteen, circa 1930 [R]

This Zia Pueblo pottery canteen is attributed to Geronima Medina by the current owner as that is what she was told at the time she purchased it.  It is not signed with a potter's name, however.  Very little Zia pottery was signed before 1950.  This canteen is an excellent example of early 20^th century Zia pottery.  The construction was well done and the painted design is precise in execution.

There is very little information published on Geronima Gachupin Medina (1892-1972) Ts'aadawei' other than she was born circa 1882 and began to be an active potter around 1910.  She was the wife of José Medina (1893-1970) and the mother of Eralia and Rosita Medina.  Her sisters were Trinidad Gachupin Medina and Reyes Gachupin Moquino/Pino.  The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, OK has one of her pots collected in 1939.  It is pictured in Figure 14.44 in The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanman.  It is an unsigned jar but was most likely purchased from the potter.

Condition:  this Zia Pueblo Upright Pottery Canteen, circa 1930 is in very good condition

Provenance: from a former Arizona collector of pueblo pottery

Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Francis H. Harlow and Dwight P. Lanmon

Relative Links: Geronima Gachupin Medina, Trinidad Gachupin Medina, Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo