WOW!  This is a spectacular large red melon jar by Helen Shupla.  Of course, she is famous for the revival of this form and each piece is coil-built with the ribs pushed out in the clay.  This melon jar is a striking shape with a high shoulder where the ribs are rounded out and extending to a smaller neck and mouth.  This is a shape and size that she rarely made.  There is greater difficulty in creating the ribs on a piece with this shape than in her rounder, low-shoulder melon jar.  The piece has a striking symmetry to the form. The jar has 22 symmetrical ribs, each pushed out from the inside to create an undulating form.  The entire surface is fully polished and the jar is fired a deep, glassy red coloration.  Simple, elegant, and visually stunning!  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Helen Shupla”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.