very small foot flaring to narrow, steep shoulder; wide mouth; cream body decorated with red and brown; 2 organic medallions alternate with pairs of deer and geometric patterns; geometric band on shoulder

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Vessel, 20th century

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Ceramic, pigmentexpand_more

Anonymous Giftexpand_more  2004.35.23

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In the early 1800s, the A'shiwi (Zuni) began to paint life forms on their pottery, such as highly abstracted birds. Several decades later, more naturalistic renderings became common. A typical late 19th century A'shiwi olla would often be enclosed by a series of two or three horizontal bands of differing widths and would be interrupted by a rosette and also sometimes a deer. As in this example, the deer have a red "heart line," which runs down from the mouth and ends in an arrow shape at the heart. Based on a traditional A'shiwi story, the line may represent the animal's sacred breath of life.

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Details
Title
Vessel
Artist Life
A'shiwi (Zuni)
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2004.35.23
Curator Approved

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very small foot flaring to narrow, steep shoulder; wide mouth; cream body decorated with red and brown; 2 organic medallions alternate with pairs of deer and geometric patterns; geometric band on shoulder

Copyright of the artist, artist's estate, or assignees