RARE Zuni Pueblo Orange over Cream Slip Bowl, circa 1870s [SOLD]

Pottery of the style of this bowl from Zuni Pueblo is an enigma to those normally produced there in the 19^th century. From around 1850 to 1885, pottery with these massive designs appeared and the origin of such a movement is not yet understood.

According to Harlow and Lanman in The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo, very few such pieces are to be found outside of museum collections and many scholars and collectors are unaware of their existence. The majority of known examples is housed in the Smithsonian Institution and was collected for the BAE between 1879 and 1884. It appears that the earliest examples were found on Hawikuh Polychrome vessels as early as1680 and continued being made as late as 1880, yet there are so few known to exist.

One expects a potter to cover the entire vessel with a base slip over which is applied the slip used for decoration. It appears that this is not the case in these bowls. The tan slip, which appears to be a base cover, and the red slip, which forms the design, typically was laid side by side, not one over the other. The two colors are separated by black edging between them. The same color configuration exists on the design on the exterior of the bowl. The bowl has a black rim and red underbody.

Condition: The bowl is in excellent structural condition. According to UV light examination, there has been some very minor conservation to the surface paint, but it does not appear that any of the vessel walls was missing or damaged.

Provenance: ex. coll. Santa Fe collector