Images(3)

Olla (water jar)

1820–40

Object PlaceZuni, New Mexico, United States

Medium/TechniqueEarthenware with white and black slip paint

Dimensions27.94 x 34.52 cm (11 x 13 9/16 in.)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. George A. Goddard

Accession number02.850

On View

On view

ClassificationsCeramics

Collections

Americas

ProvenanceSeptember, 1902, sent by a trader on a Navajo reservation in Jewett, NM to Jane Lathrop Loring (Mrs. Asa) Gray (b. 1821 - d. 1909), Cambridge, MA [see note]; 1902, probably sold by or through Mrs. Gray to Alice Cutler Holmes (Mrs. George A.) Goddard (b. 1862 - d. 1933), Boston; 1902, gift of Mrs. George A. Goddard to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 17, 1902)

NOTES: Mrs. Gray probably acquired this with the assistance of Mary Louise Eldridge (b. 1849 - d. 1933) of Jewett, from whom she obtained other Native American objects around this time. Mrs. Eldridge began working in New Mexico in 1891 for the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1894, she was made field matron for the Women's National Indian Association, whose work in New Mexico was often funded by the chapter in Cambridge, MA. By 1898 Mrs. Eldridge was the superintendent for all Navajo work; she donated land to build a hospital in Jewett, with funds donated from members in Boston and Cambridge. Mrs. Asa Gray was a leading member of the Cambridge chapter. In 1901, the newsletter of the WNIA (The Indian's Friend) began publishing a notice stating that anyone who wished to purchase Native American baskets or other goods could order them through Mrs. Eldridge, among others. The WNIA also held fairs at this time, selling artifacts to raise funds for Native American housing and other projects.

For further information, see Valerie Sherer Mathes, ed., Women's National Indian Association: A History (Albuquerque, 2015), 153-172.