Laguna Four-Color Polychrome Fluted Rim Jar, circa 1890 [SOLD]

For a potter who had all the responsibilities of daily chores and family needs to find the time to be creative in producing pottery of exceptional beauty is admirable.  The potter who made this large jar was certainly one of immense talent and creativity.

The rim of this jar is fluted and its edge is painted black, over the white slip.  Inside the neck is painted red down to a distance of about 4 inches—the entire length of the neck of the vessel.  The jar was slipped with white clay about 2/3^rd of the distance of the body.  The lower portion was slipped in red clay. 

An undulating double rainbow encircles the entire vessel with the upper one slipped in red clay and the lower one in orange clay.  Within the boundary of the two rainbows are rectangular black elements that are split with a white line in their center.  Pendant from the lower rainbow are three-petal floral elements in deep red color. Resting on the upper rainbow are double bird designs executed in an abstract fashion.  There are three of these floral elements and three pairs of birds.

This jar is a visual masterpiece.  Its size is impressive (bigger than the standard olla) and the design is not too little or too much but just the right amount for the jar.  The potter was a master at construction and an artist at decorating.  One must admire a potter who devoted time to creating such a beautiful jar under the circumstances of her existence. 

Condition:  The jar is in remarkable condition for one that is over 100 years old.

Provenance: ex. coll. Colorado collector