Zia Pottery

Contemporary potters of the Zia Pueblo in New Mexico are faithful caretakers of their pottery legacy, keeping to traditional jar forms and painted designs. One of the most iconic Zia pottery designs is the Zia bird, an elegant, slender-beaked bird surrounded by geometric and floral designs. Zia pottery is unpolished redware, made from a clay that fires to an intense red shade. Exterior designs are usually polychrome, painted on either a dark orange or a white slip. Contemporary Zia potters of note include Sofia Medina (1932-2010), Lois Medina (b. 1959), and Eleanor Pino Griego (b. 1953).