This superlative Laguna Pueblo polychrome olla dates to circa 1900-1920, and makes a fantastic visual statement by its unusual vessel shape. I have not seen an explanation for double-lobe vessels of this style, but they appeared during the Prehistoric as well as the Historic periods. Could they have been ceremonial? Could they have been whimsical and experimental? Whatever the reason, they are relatively rare and extremely interesting.

The underbody is slipped in orange and there is an orange band at the waist. The neck interior is slipped in dark red down to the upper interior shoulder. The rim top is black and the design field has been divided into two sections, from underbody to waist, and waist to rim. The design fields are different in each section. The upper section is a continuous band of diamonds comprised of parallel lines, within which is a pair of cloud elements. The design of the lower section is similar, but the elements are triangular in shape.

Provenance:This Polychrome Double-Lobe Jar was part of the exhibit CODY, WYOMING POTTERY COLLECTION June 10, 2006 until September 10, 2006 presented at adobe gallery Santa fe.