This four-color jar is beautiful as well as intellectually interesting. Four-color designs are fairly rare and they are desirable in the marketplace. Moreover, when studying the design in detail, one can see that the fourth color is a brownish paint. Please note how the artist has gone over the black outlining of red designs in the upper band of the pot with this brown paint. She also used it to paint the diagonal hatch lines in the middle of the body. Also note the dots (or fringe) that are encased within wider diagonal bands. These dots give the design a lift, making it far more interesting to behold. (To learn more about characteristics of Zuni Polychrome circa 1840/1860-1920), go to The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo by Dwight Lanmon and Francis Harlow [Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe; 2008. Chapter 8, pp 143+

The red underbody line and design of zigzag triangles clearly place this pot in the period from 1880-1890s.