Very early Zia pictorial polychrime jar
Very early Zia pictorial polychrime jar
9” diameter x 6 1/4” high
Excellent, with minor chips on the rim and a long hairline crack which is very stable. These are to be expected in a jar of this age.
ex: Al Luckett Collection (with original sales receipt)
circa 1820 or perhaps a bit earlier
(very detailed analysis of this jar by Lanmon and Harlow accompanies this jar)
$22,000.
(P0485)
After the Spanish arrived in Zuni, they forbid the burying of pots with the dead, viewing it as a pagan ritual. Therefore, pots were used until they literally fell apart. The result is that far fewer Historic Pueblo pots survived than Prehistoric Pueblo pottery.
Two questions arise in the minds of those who are very knowledgeable about Historic Pueblo pottery: Was this pot made in Zia or in Santa Ana? How early is this jar?
This jar has been analyzed thoroughly by Dwight Lanmon and Francis Harlow and a detailed analysis is available. They concluded after consulting their research that this pot was probably made at Zia and it dates to circa 1820 (or perhaps a bit earlier).
Pictorial images on early Historic Zia jars are fairly rare. Moreover, this pot has a positive/negative polychrome design, which is even more unusual. The pot was clearly used (visible in the photo of the "red bird"), another desirable characteristic.
ex: Al Luckett Collection (original sales receipt from him accompanies the jar); Private Collection; Marcy Burns Collectio
(P0485)