A squat bulbous vase from Clifton Pottery's Indian Ware line is decorated with bold black geometric designs against an unglazed red clay body. The interior is finished in a high gloss black glaze. The piece was produced in Newark, New Jersey, during the line's brief run between 1905 and 1911.

A wide black band encircles the lower body below a triangular panel filled with stepped and angular motifs in matte black slip. Hand and claw like forms project from the corners of the design near the shoulder. A pale buff band separates the painted decoration from the glossy black rimmed neck. The flared rim opens above the rounded, low slung body.

Clifton Pottery was founded in 1905 by William A. Long with chemist Fred Tschirner, producing Indian Ware alongside crystalline and matte glaze lines until the company turned to tile production in 1911. The Indian Ware designs were drawn directly from prehistoric Southwest ceramics, and pieces were often inscribed with the name of the archaeological site that inspired the pattern, in this vase Four Mile Ruin, Arizona.

The base is incised Clifton, Four Mile Ruin, Arizona, with the artist's initials JB.