This jar is part of a new series of pieces by Les Namingha.  This, “Pueblo Series” is focused on universal design similarities among various Pueblo pottery. As Les is both Zuni and Hopi-Tewa, he has a lot of cultural imagery to pull from for this body of work.  Les says of this piece:

“I’m using the avanyu as a theme for a small collection of pots. These two jars are leading towards creating jars that will have a Zuni style representation of “Kolowisi” or rather, my interpretation of the water serpent. They are part of my “Pueblo Jar series” that I started recently. This series interprets or incorporates elements from other Pueblos outside of my Zuni and Tewa-Hopi influenced work.  My focus is on finding similarities in design elements across all Pueblo communities.”

The jar is one of Les’s classic shapes with the round body and short neck.  The side of the jar has mica in the white area and there are four bands of Kolowisi, which is the Zuni name for the plumed water serpent.  They are wonderfully painted encircling the jar.  The top has a very modernist appearance with graphic lines and circles, again inspired by Zuni imagery.  It is a wonderfully painted and dramatic jar.   It is signed on the bottom.