Unique Zia Pueblo Historic Pottery Jar with Monochromatic Designs [SOLD]

Rita Shije Kayeiti's Master Work: A Unique Zia Pueblo Jar from the Turn of the Century

This historic pottery jar, crafted by the renowned Zia Pueblo artist Rita [Salas] Shije Kayeiti, stands out for its unique design and color palette. The interplay of the warm brown pigment against the soft cream background slip creates an appealing visual contrast. The vessel's shape, diverging from the typical forms seen in Zia Pueblo pottery, adds another layer of intrigue to the piece.

The jar's design is a study in elegant transformation. Its narrow base gradually expands as it ascends, curving inward and upward to form a short rim. This harmonious blend of a vessel shape, a dark cream patina, and an enchanting design distinguishes this piece from others of its era.

The design itself is a journey from the base to the rim, characterized by its light and fanciful nature rather than being oppressively heavy. The artist has innovatively foregone the traditional red underbody often found in historic Zia jars, extending the cream slip to the base instead. This provides additional space for the design, allowing floral elements to spring forth from the base. These elements take the form of plants outlined in brown pigment; their interiors are left unpainted for a striking effect.

The rim is adorned with tilted brown bars enclosed within framing lines. Below these bars, a wide band outlined by a pair of thin framing lines features a ceremonial line break. Hanging from this band are triangular brown elements, each housing three circles. These elements are encircled by a sweeping line of brown triangular clouds. The tip of this line supports two large, graceful leaves left unpainted, outlined in brown, and dotted with small polka dots at the ends.

This jar, with its unique design and historical significance, is undoubtedly one of the prized pottery vessels from Zia Pueblo dating back to the turn of the last century.

Rita [Salas] Shije Kayeiti' (ca. 1867 to 1875-1956) was the daughter of Pablo (or San Antonio or Manual) Salas (ca. 1830 to 1842-1932) and San Juanita (or Juana or San Juana) Medina Salas (ca. 1843-1931). She married Isidro Shije (ca. 1865 to 1870 - ?) about 1895, and they had three children: Virginia Galvan Salas (ca. 1895-1984), Luciana (1898-1994), and José Juan (1917-1997). [Harlow & Lanmon 2003:308]

We know of Rita Salas Shije's work through a photograph by Edward S. Curtis and photographs of pottery by her from the R. M. Camp Company, 1922, and the Julius Gans Store, Santa Fe, 1921. The jars in these two photographs share a graphic layout of a significant area of undecorated space. The jar from the Julius Gans photograph has paired oval dotted-leaf forms at the terminals of the hatchuring that are identical to those on the jar in this presentation. There is no doubt that the artist of the two are the same. [ibid]

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Unique Zia Pueblo Historic Pottery Jar with Monochromatic Designs is from the private Colorado collection of a family from Colorado

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

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo, Historic Potter, Rita [Salas] Shije Kayeiti'