Isleta Pueblo Historic Dough Bowl ca. 1880s [SOLD]

This historic pottery dough bowl was made by an unknown Isleta Pueblo artist. It likely dates to the 1880s. This is a rare and remarkable piece of functional pueblo pottery, and it deserves the consideration of any collector who appreciates fine utilitarian wares.

As is typical of Isleta works from this period, there is no painted design. The only adornment of any kind is the red clay slip circling the bowl's exterior, just below the rim. Below the red band, the clay's natural tan color appears without any additional design. A gorgeous pattern of smokey gray fire clouds covers much of the exterior, enriching the bowl's coloration and enhancing its beauty immeasurably.

The exterior and interior were stone polished, with the interior displaying a slightly more thorough and smooth polish than the exterior. The bowl's form is excellent. Remarkably, there are no condition issues of any kind, and no restoration or repair. There is some evidence of use and handling in the form of small abrasions and a tiny rim chip, but there are no cracks or major chips. It is rare to come across a piece of historic Isleta pottery on the market today, and even more rare to discover one that is undamaged and of such high quality.

Isleta Pueblo, Tue-I, which means Little Island (Spanish for islet), was given its name by the conquering Spaniards due to its location on a tongue of land projecting from the east bank into the Rio Grande.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Isleta Pueblo Historic Dough Bowl ca. 1880s is from a private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: Pueblo Pottery of the New Mexico Indians: Ever Constant, Ever Changing by Betty Toulouse, Museum of New Mexico Press, 1976

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Isleta Pueblo, Tue-I, Historic Pottery