This is a stunning wide shoulder melon jar by Alton Komalestewa.  It is the combination of color, form, and polish which makes it exceptional.  Alton learned to make pottery from his mother-in-law, Helen Shupla.  She was famous for her traditional melon bowls and over the years Alton has taken and refined this form with thinner walls and a highly polished surface.  This large jar is thin-walled and highly stone polished.  As it was being made, each of the twenty-four undulating ribs is pushed out from the inside.  It is technically difficult to stretch the clay and create even ribs.  This jar was then fired brown, but it is a color that ranges from brown to red to nearly black. The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay and Alton has also included his hallmark, which is a  katsina face. The jar is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.