This interesting little pot is a relic from the end of the 19th century, likely dating from the 1890's to 1920. It was broken & partially reconstructed with one piece reglued back into the whole. There is a missing area that is less than 10% of the surface. We can see it was made with interesting artistry: black graphic designs on the neck represent lightning & there are four elongated rainbirds in red on the lower section. An unusual dimensional wavy line was applied at the shoulder & accented with black paint, part of the artist's unique vision with a personal meaning. The lightning & rainbirds are themes of life bringing rain, which brings abundance to the land & supports the crops. The black paint extends just inside the neck, a practice that was prevalent during the end of the 19th century. There is a slight impression from the puki, a form used to hold & support a pot while it is being constructed, that was left on the base; preservation of the puki mark was discontinued in the early 20th century. On the interior face of the shard, we can see it has a darkening not found in the pot itself, which leads me to believe it broke under the stresses of pit firing allowing the inside face of the fragment to be exposed to more smoke than the actual pot. After firing, the pieces were kept despite the breakage, perhaps even preserved in a trash pit, & were repaired at a later date. The missing area was lost to time & we can only speculate how this item exists at all! There was widespread collecting of Zuni pottery by museum representatives at the turn of the century, which has been widely documented in the thousands of pieces, so turn of the century Zuni pottery is rarely available. This pot measures approx 4.75" H x 5.75" W x 4.75" D. It is from an AZ estate.

Good Condition with missing area. 

PP