Ohkay Owingeh Red-over-tan Serving Bowl [SOLD]

The beauty of Ohkay Owingeh pottery is its simplicity.  The shape of the vessel is the dominant visual stimulation, not being overrun by painted design.  The deep red slip on the upper half of the vessel overlays the tan clay of the vessel.  When the stone-polished vessel is fired in the traditional manner, there are always beautiful fire clouds on the vessel wall.  This bowl, which was obviously fired in an upside down position, has a large smoky black fire cloud covering the entire interior of the bowl.

According to Batkin¹, pottery making at San Juan (Ohkay Owingeh) pueblo almost died out by 1900 except for an occasional piece made for household use or for sale or trade. There was a revival in the 1930s but it was of a different style. This bowl probably dates to circa 1900 or a little later and is traditional to the original San Juan Pueblo style.  It flares gracefully from the flat base to a bulging mid-section that flows inward to an upright rim.  It is thin walled, as thin as Acoma pottery.  No other pueblo practiced the art of placing slip on only the upper portion of a vessel. If there was a reason for doing this, it is lost to history.  It is this trait and the lack of design that make the pottery from that pueblo so attractive.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: from a family in California anticipating college tuition funds for next fall.

¹Reference and Recommended Reading:  Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700- 1940 by Jonathan Batkin.