WOW!  This is a striking large water jar by Jessie Garcia.  She is one of the great names in Acoma pottery.  Between 1950 and 1970, she along with Lucy Lewis and Marie Z. Chino led the revival of Acoma pottery.  This jar is a classic Acoma water jar or “olla” shape with a high shoulder and short neck and one of the largest painted pieces we have had of her work come back to the gallery!  The jar is coil-built and thin-walled.  It is painted on two sides with a classic “sun” design with lots of hatchwork patterns.  Robert Patricio says that the center part of this design is also a “fertility” pattern.  Separating the two sections are large butterflies.  The jar is not only tightly painted but has a lot of fine-line and checkerboard patterns that are time-consuming.  The piece is painted with bee-weed (black) and a reddish/orange clay slip. While the red appears lighter and darker in some areas, I think it is all the same clay, making it a “three-color” jar. It was traditionally fired and it is signed on the bottom, “Jessie Garcia” It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.