Cleveland Museum of Art

Water Jar (Olla)

Date

1880s

Medium

ceramic, slip

Culture

Native North America, Southwest, New Mexico, Zuni (A:shiwi) Pueblo

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The underside of this Zuni (A:shiwi) jar ( olla ), made by a woman to collect and store water in the 1800s, curves upward to allow the jar to be carried atop the head. Today, this traditional skill is celebrated by the Zuni Olla Maidens, a nationally known dance group that performs while balancing ollas on their heads. Ollas naturally keep water cool via evaporation through their porous walls, a valuable trait in the desert Southwest. Many Zuni say that water from an olla tastes better than water from a tap.

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