Native American, Southwestern USA, Colorado or New Mexico, Anasazi / Ancestral Puebloans, Mesa Verde, ca. 1100 to 1300 CE. A superb pottery olla exhibiting an elegant silhouette of sizeable scale with a concave base and well-formed walls that expand outwards to a broad hip, a sloped shoulder, a corseted neck, and a flared rim. Enveloped in a pale hue of ash gray, the impressive vessel is adorned with black-painted decoration of linear, geometric, zigzag, and maze motifs that span from just below the hip to the base of the neck. A pair of broad, horizontal handles flanks the wide midsection of the magnificent jug. This vessel was made by hand coiling pottery, smoothing it, and baking it in an open-air fire. The spiraling, triangular motifs may represent the passage of time, a particular clan, or may reflect the personal preferences of the women who made them. This type of vessel was made for carrying water, with a narrow neck to prevent evaporation and allow a plug. Size: 14.4" Diameter x 11.8" H (36.6 cm x 30 cm)

Vessels from this tradition were made from a gray or white clay with angular fragments of temper and this one has a pearly gray-white slip that was then overpainted with a black pigment made from carbon. Largely, these were made by women who lived in cliff dwellings like those seen at Mesa Verde National Park.

Provenance: private South Carolina, USA collection

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#171323

Professionally repaired and restored with some repainting in areas. Expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Great pigments and detail throughout.