This is 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 undulating ribs are 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 isa  katsina face. The jar is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.