This is a classic melon jar by Samuel Manymules.  It is coil-built and slipped with red clay and then traditionally fired.  The jar has a round shoulder and an elongated neck. The six melon ribs extend from the rim to the base.  Note how they get larger at the shoulder to accentuate the form!  They are each symmetrical and created by pushing the clay out from the inside while pushing down from the outside!  The coloration of the jar is intense from the firing with red and deep black areas.  The color is created by traditional outdoor firing.  After the firing, the jar is covered with pinon pitch in the traditional way expected of Navajo pottery.  It is signed, “SM”.  It is extraordinary vessels like this that keep Samuel among the top Navajo potters working today.