Santo Domingo Pueblo Black-on-Cream Aguilar Sisters OLLA

Legacy in Clay: The Aguilar Sisters and the Art of Kewa Pottery

This pottery OLLA, or water jar, was made by Felipita Aguilar Garcia and Asuncion Aguilar Caté, the Kewa Pueblo potters who are commonly referred to as the Aguilar Sisters. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Aguilar sisters created some of the finest Kewa pottery of the era. They developed a style that was unlike anything that had been made previously, using bold black pigments and unusual polychrome designs.

This olla was likely made earlier in the Aguilar sisters' career, before they developed their instantly recognizable polychrome style. Black-on-cream pieces like this one stick closely to the traditional Kewa style, but they are still quite easy to attribute to the Aguilars. The vessel form is the most easily recognizable characteristic; the bold nature of the black pigments is another Aguilar trait.

This piece uses two design bands, with one circling the neck and the second reaching from the shoulder down to the red-painted lower third of the olla. Within each band, an element appears repeatedly around the olla's exterior. Groups of framing lines separate the two bands. Where the framing lines' ceremonial breaks appear, vertical lines run from base to rim, creating right-angled blocks on one side of the olla. The painted composition as a whole is stylish and tasteful, which means that it's a perfect match for the gorgeous vessel.

Felipita Aguilar Garcia and Asuncion Aguilar Caté (ca.1880 - 1925) were sisters who worked together to create some of the finest Kewa Pueblo (formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo) pottery. In the early twentieth century, the Aguilar sisters developed innovative and beautiful pottery styles that have become highly collectible in the years since their passing.

We are not sure exactly when the Aguilar sisters' careers ended. An unpublished text by Francis Harlow and Dwight Lanmon includes a handful of pieces by the Aguilar sisters, most of which are reported to date to 1910-1915. Chapman (p.152) states that two Black-and-red jars are known to have been made by one potter as late as 1920. He does not state the name of the potter, however. Douglas states that the two sisters passed away around 1915. Batkin (p.99) states that "evidence suggests that Felipita Garcia continued her style as late as 1920 to 1930; she also made traditional polychrome and Black-on-red vessels, all of them beautifully executed."

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Santo Domingo Pueblo Black-on-Cream Aguilar Sisters OLLA is from a private collection, sold through Adobe Gallery in 2006 and now returned for resale

References:

- Chapman, Kenneth M. The Pottery of Santo Domingo Pueblo: A Detailed Study of its Decoration. Memoirs of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Volume 1, Santa Fe. 1936.

- Douglas, Frederick H. Santo Domingo Pottery of the "Aguilar" Type, Clearing House for Southwestern Museums, Denver Art Museum, Newsletter No. 37, June 1941.

- Batkin, Jonathan. Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700-1940. The Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1987.

TAGS: Santo Domingo Pueblo, pottery, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asunción Aguilar Caté