Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2010 School for Advanced Research.
Water jar | K'yabokya de'ele
Date: 1880-1900
Artist or Maker: Unknown
Dimensions:
Dimensions: 27.9 × 34.3 cm (11 × 13 1/2 in.)
Weight: 3.3 kg (7.3 lb.)
Medium: clay | paints
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur Seligman, 1923.
Place Made:
Zuni Pueblo, McKinley County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.190
Not on view
Tribal Collection Review RemarksOctavius Seowtewa during collection review visit Nov. 16 and 17, 2009 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 3”): This jar shows even wear around the rim from use, which appears to have been drinking water storage. Previous catalog records identified the birds in the band around the center of the body as peacocks. However, they should be identified as representations of rainbirds.
As per Jim Enote and Octavius Seowtewa during collection review visit Jan. 9 and 10, 2014 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 12”):The rim is heavily chipped and eroded, but it was painted black, which can still be seen on the interior of the neck. The rim is slightly flared. Due to the chipping and erosion, it’s not possible to see if there was a line immediately below the rim. The neck decoration contains bird elements and four-sided stars with eyes at their centers. The innermost stars are black, then outlined with red, and the outermost layer is black. The stars are surrounded by bird elements including bird heads, bodies, tails, crests, feathers, and stepped clouds. The neck designs are not divided into compartments, rather all of the designs are just next to each other. There is a thick double line with a line break between the neck and body designs; some of the slip has flaked off of the lines. The body is decorated with three flowers/rosettes and three panels consisting of bird elements. Two of the flowers/rosettes have ten petals each, while the third has eleven petals. The bird element design panels are divided into three bands. The upper and lower bands contain bird heads with crests and tails. They are the same except that the bottom design is flipped the opposite direction from the top one. The middle band contains two black and red birds with eyes and elaborate tails. There is a thin line with a line break between the body and the base. The base is dark brown and has a concavity for carrying the jar on the head. The base shows significant wear. There are several interesting examples on the jar of where the artist changed her mind about the placement of lines. It looks like she tried to cover the initial ones with white slip, but they became visible after the jar was fired.
The word for a water jar in Zuni is “k'yabokya de'ele,” which translates to “water container vessel” in English. The intended use for these jars was to store and carry water, but they could also be used to store other items.
In Collection(s)
The Indian Arts Research Center, in collaboration with Native American community scholars, strives to present accurate collections records. Records may be updated as new information becomes available and is reviewed with the Native American community having cultural affinity to particular items. Please write to iarc@sarsf.org if you have questions or concerns related to the documentation.