Zia Water Jar with Trios Designs, Circa 1880

Zia Pueblo

Crica 1880 | Clay | Item 2171

This is a beautiful water jar. There is an excellent balance between design and void, giving the jar a dramatic look. It was purchased from Mark Sublette, The Medicine Man Gallery, in 2016 and was dated from 1870 – 1880. I’m a bit more conservative on the dating. The jar is painted only in black, showing capped spirals with trifoliate designs inside and hatching inside the capped portions. These spirals march across the body of the jar and as well around the neck. The body, the neck, the underbody and the rim are all separated from each other with two circulating bands.

The jar has an overall look of a Zuni jar, with the white foundation and finely executed black designs. The shape is more Zia than Zuni with the widest diameter just above the midline and a neck taller than found on Zuni. There is a darker band of red just below the designed portion and at the top of the underbelly, characteristic of Zia jars made before 1920. The very bottom has an indentation for carrying on top of the head. There is ladle wear along the rim, showing that this jar was in use by the Pueblo before it made its way to the marker. Ladles were typically metal, so were stronger than the clay jars and can do damage to them over time. This is a dramatic jar and displays beautifully.