This large jar by Samuel Manymules is a striking shape for his pottery.  It is coil-built and slipped with red clay and then traditionally fired.  The jar has a wide shoulder and a slightly turned-out rim.  It’s the shape and the color that are so striking!  The jar has color variations from deep red to black.  They flow in organic bands across the surface.  Samuel said that the areas which are tan are the ones that were fired the hottest! The color changes as the jar is turned but in the photos, you get a good sense of the color variations.  After the firing, the jar is covered with pinon-pitch in the traditional way expected of Navajo pottery.  It is signed on the bottom, “SM”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.  It is extraordinary vessels like this that keep Samuel among the top Navajo potters working today.