Off-white onion-shaped pot embellished with painted organic and geometric decorative stripes, featuring spiral and bird motifs, in deep browns and reds.

Unknown Maker, A:shiwi (Zuñi)

Olla

Maker

Unknown Maker, A:shiwi (Zuñi)

Culture

A:shiwi (Zuñi), Native North American

Title

Olla

Year

ca. 1825

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

glazed earthenware

Geography

Place Made: Pueblo of Zuni

Dimensions

Height: 22.9 cm (9 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Thomas Hunt

Object Number

43.407

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

The Narragansett and other New England tribes weave baskets from ash and oak trees for everyday use and the commercial market. The flowerlike stamped designs on the example at center are common across the region.

Sa’lakwmana, cloud spirit and bringer of rain, is depicted on this plaque woven from plants in the Hopi homelands in Arizona. Hopi gardener Susan Sekaquaptewa explains that the relationship with plants “is reciprocal. We offer gratitude for what they give us, and we pray for the rains and the sun that nourish them.”

Water also is precious in the Zuni homelands of western New Mexico. Pottery ollas like this one (right) were made to collect, store, and carry water.

-SB

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, A:shiwi (Zuñi)
Olla, ca. 1825
Earthenware with slip decoration
Height: 22.9 cm (9 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Thomas Hunt 43.407

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