Isleta Pueblo Red Pottery Horno [R]

This is a very traditional Isleta Pueblo tourist piece of pottery from circa 1890-1920. The Isleta women would bring pieces such as this to the Albuquerque train depot to sell to the train travelers.

This horno is slipped in red clay in the tradition of Isleta. Around 1879, a group of Laguna families, who had split from their native village, settled at Isleta Pueblo in a village they named Oraibi. It was these Laguna potters who introduced Polychrome pottery to Isleta, eventually replacing the traditional Isleta Red-on-tan pottery. This horno, however, was made in the tradition that existed at Isleta before the arrival of the Laguna potters.

I believe this to be a really unusual and relatively rare piece of Isleta Pueblo tourist pottery because it lacks decoration. Most of the pieces taken into Albuquerque to sell to tourists were decorated. Perhaps this was an older potter who was used to the traditional Isleta style of undecorated pottery.

Provenance: The base of the horno is labeled with a rubber stamp marking that states: M(unreadable)HE STUDIO Isleta, New Mexico.