Zia Pueblo Large Floral Pattern Olla [SOLD]

It is fortunate that Kenneth Chapman and Jesse Nussbaum took a number of photographs of Reyes Galvan Aguilar and her pottery and that those images have been published in The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon. 

This jar demonstrates design elements documented for Reyes Galvan Aguilar.  It has split leaves on either side of the stem and the stems have paired yellow leaves at the tip of the stem and berries below.  This element is typical of her design.  Curved lines of dots around the rim are documented on other vessels by her.  The jar dates to circa 1910.

This jar was spotted by Santa Fe collector and dealer Richard Howard decades ago.  He spotted it through a window while driving on the outskirts of Zuni Pueblo on a return trip from Phoenix to Santa Fe.  The owner was not a native of Zuni.  Her house had a large plate glass window and this jar was visible in the window and was full of brightly colored plastic flowers.  Mr. Howard turned around and drove up to the house and spoke with the owner about the jar but was not able to purchase it at that time.  On a subsequent visit, he succeeded in getting what he lovingly called his “flower pot.”  There were other jars in the home too and he was able to purchase a few of them over the next few years but one time when he stopped, he found the house empty and all the other “flower pots” gone. 

The jar is beautifully formed and decorated entirely in a floral design, a design used in pottery before the abundant use of the Zia bird as the focal point of the design.  Floral designs are more pleasing and the elements appear to float over the vessel in the light fantasy of a ballet or plants flowing back and forth in the water of an aquarium.  This is a beautiful jar with a warm patina of years of existence.

Condition: very good condition with some calcium deposits that evidence its use as a water jar before it became a repository for plastic flowers.  Minor scratches and abrasions.

Provenance: from the collection of Richard M. Howard, Santa Fe dealer and collector

Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon