Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2010 School for Advanced Research.
Water jar | K'yabokya de'ele
Date: 1880-1890
Artist or Maker: Unknown
Dimensions:
25.4 x 31.8 cm (10 x 12 1/2 in.)
Medium: clay | paints
Credit Line: Indian Arts Fund purchase for the permanent collection.
Place Made:
Zuni Pueblo, McKinley County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.392
Not on view
The body of the jar is decorated with a bird design that repeats six times around the jar. The bird is composed of a head with black and red crests, a body filled with red rain lines (hatching), wings filled with black rain lines (hatching), and an elaborate tail. The birds are made up of the same bird elements frequently seen in fragments on Zuni ceramics, but here are united into a recognizable bird form. The body and base sections of the jar are separated by a single black line without a line break.
The base of the jar is convex, for carrying the jar on the head, and is painted a solid brown. There is a penciled inscription on the exterior wall of the jar, in the body section. (See the Inscription(s) field.)
Tribal Collection Review RemarksOctavius Seowtewa during collection review visit Nov. 16 and 17, 2009 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 3”): This jar has a rainbird design on it, repeating around the body. The wear and mineral deposits on the rim make it apparent that this jar was used to store water.
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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Jim Enote and Octavius Seowtewa during collection review visit April 10 and 11, 2014 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 15”): This jar is heavy for its size, with the vessel walls thicker than many. The rim and upper portion of the neck are heavily eroded. It does not have chips or cracks, rather is it is simply worn away from use as a water jar. What is still visible of neck designs show that it was decorated with four-sided stars with rain line hatching and bird heads and tails.
A black, thick, double line with a line break on the shoulder of the jar separates the neck designs from the body designs. Immediately below the double line is a black and red wave design, with the points of the waves pointing downward. The body decoration consists of just one continuous design panel, with no vertical compartments. The design is of a bird that repeats six times around the jar. It is represented as a “whole” bird that shows many of the bird elements that are commonly used on Zuni pottery united into a recognizable bird form. Present are the bird head with two crest designs, the body filled with rain line hatching, the shoulders, the wings filled with rain line hatching, and the various parts of a tail. There is a thin black line without a line break separating the body designs from the base.
The base is a solid brown with a concavity for carrying on the head. There is a penciled inscription, only partially legible, on the exterior of the jar, between two birds, that says “Pasol___y Made Wife”, or possibly “Pasol___y Masa’s Wife.” Mr. Seowtewa and Mr. Enote expressed that this jar would be a good example to illustrate the various bird elements in a recognizable form, so that people can have a frame of reference when they see these same elements presented in various configurations on other jars.
In Collection(s)
Bibliography:
Pueblo Designs
- Pg. 39
- Fig. Plate XI, 2
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.