Frederica Antonio is renowned for her intricately painted pottery. Each piece is coil-built and then finely painted. Her designs are a series of fine vertical and horizontal lines that are then filled in to create larger images in the squares.  This jar has a low shoulder and straight sides.  The top part of the jar is black-and-white with her “micro squares” that are smaller than her normal squares.  They create a star pattern in the dusk sky. Below is a mesa design in two different colors of clay.  Below that is a checkerboard design that is painted with various colors of clay slip.  Frederica said it is meant to look like the setting sun on the mesas and the variety of colors that it creates. Technically, the squares are painted with clay slip for the colors and then the black is painted over the top of the clay, which adds to the complexity of the piece.  The base of the jar is concave, reminiscent of historic Acoma jars that were carried on the head.  This combination of thin walls, classic shape, and tightly painted design creates a piece that is visually stunning!  The jar is signed on the bottom, “F. V. Antonio”.