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Source Description
Zuni (A:shiwi) women used ollas (<em>oy-</em>ahs) like this one to collect, carry, and store water. The water well was a place for socializing, and the vessels’ public visibility may help to explain their elaborate, deftly painted decoration—here an abstract creature called the Rainbird whose beak spirals between two stylized, stepped wings that may allude to moisture-bearing clouds. Milford Nahohai, the contemporary Zuni potter, believes the motif is inspired by rain clouds that roll into the Zuni River Valley, their leading edges curled under the main mass to form a curve like that of the beak.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
117338
label
Water Jar (Olla) with Rainbird
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
117338
contentType
object
title
Water Jar (Olla) with Rainbird
description
Zuni (A:shiwi) women used ollas (<em>oy-</em>ahs) like this one to collect, carry, and store water. The water well was a place for socializing, and the vessels’ public visibility may help to explain their elaborate, deftly painted decoration—here an abstract creature called the Rainbird whose beak spirals between two stylized, stepped wings that may allude to moisture-bearing clouds. Milford Nahohai, the contemporary Zuni potter, believes the motif is inspired by rain clouds that roll into the Zuni River Valley, their leading edges curled under the main mass to form a curve like that of the beak.
date
1850–60
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60740564
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 25.5 x 33 cm (10 1/16 x 13 in.)
cul
Native North America, Southwest, New Mexico, Zuni (A:shiwi) Pueblo
accession
1937.898
Source extras
tec
ceramic, slip
tombstone
Water Jar (Olla) with Rainbird, 1850–60. Native North America, Southwest, New Mexico, Zuni (A:shiwi) Pueblo. Ceramic, slip; overall: 25.5 x 33 cm (10 1/16 x 13 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Amelia Elizabeth White, 1937.898
collection
AA - Native North America
citations
citation
Bergh, Susan E., "Unburied Treasure", Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 45 no. 10, December 2005
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: p. 4
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 343
citation
"The North Galleries." <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 24-29.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 26
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. <strong><br></strong>
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 28
creditline
Gift of Amelia Elizabeth White
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:05:16.990000
sourceId
117338
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Native North America
med
ceramic, slip
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d470823a673899fa