Large Kiua Polychrome Storage Jar, Santo Domingo Variety [SOLD]

This vessel is formed in native clays with a typical crystalline rock temper. The underbody is unslipped, stone-polished paste with the distinctive large red band of rough polish, striated, soapy-like appearance, and indicative of a post-1880 dating for this jar. The rim top and neck interior are rag-wiped red, with remnants of the black rim top still visible (a post-1800 characteristic), but faint, evidence of extensive use. The rag-wiped bentonite slip is a wonderfully warm cream/off-white in coloration, with subtle fire clouding and superb patina.

The vegetal black design motifs are typically Santo Domingo with certain boldness and seemingly deliberate execution—a sure mark and fantastic sense of space and design. The upper design field clearly frames and accentuates the upper shoulder, giving a sense of power and subtle aggression to the piece. The field at mid-body is clearly more openly delineated, with a fine contour line in the paired curvilinear elements and proportionally less black than the upper design field, imparting an almost airy sense to the mid-body.

The paired elements, suggestive of plant life, sprout from the lower paired framing lines at the top of the underbody. All framing lines are divided by one central ceremonial break, typical of Kiua polychrome (an earlier form of Santo Domingo and/or Cochiti—before they were distinguished separately). A fantastic vessel with excellent patina, a warm/subtle glow to the white slip, and beautifully executed vegetal-black design elements.

The jar is in very good condition with a few hairline cracks, a true find for the collector of the finest quality historic Pueblo pottery. Circa 1890-1910.

Provenance: Kiua polychrome, of which this is the Santo Domingo type, originated at Cochiti and Santo Domingo in the late eighteenth century, and continues to be produced to the present day, with fine contemporary examples coming from these Pueblos, most particularly from Santo Domingo, where master potters such as Robert Tenorio continue the Kiua tradition.

According to Harlow (Two Hundred Years of Historic Pueblo Pottery: The Gallegos Collection. 1990: 61)the historic origins of this type are obscure at best. Before 1680, Kiua pottery was in the glaze-ware style, but this technique was lost during the Pueblo rebellion and subsequent Spanish re-conquest. Stylistic progression among this group is unknown until circa 1780, when Kiua polychrome appears.