Mexican Ceramic Olla or Vessel

A potbellied jar blushing from terracotta to smoky gray, with tiny rings pressed into its shoulders.

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 rounded pot with a short flared neck and a faint band of small dotted circles around the rim. The surface is orange-brown with a big charcoal smudge down one side, and fine lines and rings scattered across the belly. It is 9 inches high and 8 in diameter.

Sooty, spotted, and comfortable in its own skin.