Zia Pueblo Four-color Polychrome Olla, c.1900 [SOLD]

Zia Pueblo potters never fail to surprise us with their many varied designs on pottery.  As soon as one thinks he has seen every design used in the historic period, another one surfaces. This jar is typically Zia in appearance, and that is easily discernable, but the design is quite different from previous ones observed. 

The design on the neck, which includes floral and geometric shapes, was executed solely in a monochromatic tone of brown.  The body of the vessel was mostly painted in brown but was highlighted by two shades of orange—dark orange for the step bars and light orange for leaves.  That may or may not technically quality as four-color, but certainly does give the appearance of such.

The rim and both upper and lower pairs of framing lines were executed in brown, the interior neck was painted red, and a wide red band was wiped on the polished red underbody.

Condition:  a rim chip and two cracks were professionally stabilized and repaired.

Provenance: from an inheritance of a family in Santa Fe

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

Updated Information: Dwight Lanmon, co-author of The Pottery of Zia Pueblo identified the potter of this jar for us.  We had listed the potter as being unknown but Dwight said he feels confident that the jar was made by Reyes Galvan Aguilar (known today as Reyes Galvan) who passed away in 1934.  We feel it is important to add this information as Galvan was a noted potter of the early 20^th century and to give her credit for this jar is also essential.  As always, our sincere thanks to Dwight Lanmon for his assistance on identifying the potter of this important Zia Pueblo jar.