Mexican Ceramic Olla or Vessel

A round-shouldered pot wrapped in geometric patterns of black, rust and cream.

This painted pottery olla is from Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico, and dates to the 20th century. Potters of Mata Ortiz typically build vessels by coiling clay without a wheel, then paint geometric designs with natural pigments and burnish and fire them. A squat jar with a wide belly narrowing to a small unglazed rim. The surface is divided into bands and triangles filled with lines, diamonds, dotted bars and leaf shapes in black and reddish brown on a cream ground. It is 5.5 inches high and 6 in diameter.

Every inch is patterned, and none of it is careless.