Adobe Gallery

This is a classic and beautifully preserved example of a historic San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh) Red-on-tan pottery jar, typically dating from the late 19th to early 20th century. The jar features the signature San Juan style: a highly polished, rich red slip applied to the upper two-thirds of the body, while the lower third is left unslipped, revealing the natural tan/buff clay paste that has been meticulously stone-polished.

This beautiful pottery storage jar was created by an unknown Cochiti Pueblo potter. We suggest that the historic jar dates to circa 1880. This estimation is reinforced by a passage in the Cochiti Pueblo chapter of Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico: 1700-1940, in which author Jonathan Batkin notes that "the stone-polished red underbody band was traditional from early in the historic period to the late nineteenth century." This jar displays the stone polished band mentioned by Batkin and is similar in character to published works of that era. It also displays a red rim, which is typical of that age.

The pre-1900s vessels from Ohkay Owingeh were not as highly polished as today's blackware from the other Tewa pueblos, but the lack of severe polishing provided slight irregularities in the surface of a vessel from which the reflected light is pleasantly muted. Most vessels were slipped with a deep red slip on the upper two-thirds of the body, leaving the lower one-third without slip. The entire vessel was then polished, inside and out, to a hard finish. The red-over-tan finished product was then fired—either in an oxidizing or reduction firing—from which would be obtained a red-over-tan or black-over-gray finished product. This style began to lose favor in the mid-1930s when the pueblo women decided to create pottery that would have a stronger appeal to tourists and collectors. That new style, however, was within tradition at the pueblo as it was based on prehistoric wares documented from Ohkay Owingeh.

This small storage jar that we have attributed to one of the three Aguilar family potters has a beautiful and commanding shape. The widest part of the body is near the top of the jar, leaving a large surface for the black triangle designs that cover the body. The high shoulder rolls over to a glorious, curved neck on which is a series of resting tulip flower designs. Double framing lines rest on the shoulder and the lower body design. A pair of vertical black lines delineates the ceremonial line break in the design. The rim is black, and a thin polished red line encircles the top of the lower red underbody.

This piece was completed in the San Ildefonso Polychrome style, which was the aesthetic of preference from 1880 to 1920. It appears to date to around the earlier time of the period—circa 1890s, most likely. The potter used black and red over cream slip, which is to be expected of works from this period. Her designs are an absolute delight, with recognizable traditional motifs sitting comfortably alongside several elements of the artist's own invention.