Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2010 School for Advanced Research.
Water jar | K'yabokya de'ele
Date: c. 1890
Artist or Maker: Unknown
Dimensions:
Dimensions: 28 × 33 cm (11 × 13 in.)
Weight: 3 kg (6.6 lb.)
Medium: clay | paints
Credit Line: Gift of Mabel Dodge Luhan, 1925.
Place Made:
Zuni Pueblo, McKinley County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.373
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 is very well balanced and the body has an almost perfectly rounded form. The deer are somewhat unusual in pose (looking over their shoulders) and it is very unusual to have deer heads as a decorative element in the design band around the neck of the jar. The deer are also standing on a striped bar going around the body of the jar. Mr. Seowtewa has never seen a jar with this grouping of decorative elements before. However, he said it has all the right elements for a Zuni jar. The designs and shape are Zuni; there is just an unusual degree of artistic license in the decoration. The base has normal wear for a jar that would have been used in the community, and the neck shows typical wear around the rim from water dripping on it and from being occasionally knocked by the gourd that was used to take water from the jar.
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 13”): The rim is painted black. It shows some moderate wear and chipping. The rim is slightly flared so that it could be used as storage jar with a cover tied over the top, though there is not much wear around where a cover would have been tied. There is a thin black line immediately below the rim with no line break. The neck design has five compartments that each contain a black deer head with a red heartline. The deer’s heads are all turned to the right, as if looking over their shoulders. Between the deer compartments are five compartments containing red step clouds, black bird tail feathers, wings, and lightning. Mr. Enote and Mr. Seowtewa explained they have never seen representations of deer like this, where only half of the body is painted and where the end of the heartline isn’t depicted.
A black triple line with a line break on the shoulder of the jar separates the neck designs from the body designs. The middle line is thick, and the top and bottom lines are thin. Also, there are two diagonal marks at one point on the shoulder lines. The body designs are divided into three horizontal bands. There are no vertical design compartments. The top band contains five deer with heartlines, each standing within a house arch. All of the deer are looking over their shoulder to the right (same as the deer heads in the neck band). The house arches are made of bird feather and tail elements, with two bird heads on top. Below the top horizontal band is a thin band of wide diagonal white and black lines. Below that is the third band, which contains a feather design that repeats seven times around the jar.
The base is a solid dark brown with a concavity for carrying the jar on the head. The base shows moderate wear. There is extensive efflorescence visible on the jar, especially on the interior. There are several areas of pitting on the exterior with marks around and below them showing where water seeped through the pits.
According to the participants in the Acoma collection review visit June 3-5, 2015 (Events Record “Collection Review: Acoma Pueblo, Review 2”): The participants do not believe this jar is Acoma. They feel the design on this jar is more indicative of a Zuni style design. The base is not as high as Acoma Jars typically are. Therefore they concluded this jar must be Zuni.
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.