Kewa Black and Red on Cream Aguilar Jar [SOLD]

Two sisters at Santo Domingo Pueblo were master potters who produced the standard black and cream ware of their pueblo. Their vessels were tall, slim water jars of the finest workmanship. Still, around 1910, or very close to then, sales of their pottery slowed somewhat. They mentioned this to Julius Seligman, the trader at the pueblo, and he suggested they experiment with new methods of decorating their pottery. They accepted his advice.

They developed a style of decorating that used large areas of black, outlined with thin lines of cream slip, and another style that used large areas of black and red, outlined too with thin lines of cream slip. It appears that Asunción preferred the black and red, and Felipita preferred the bold black.

In this jar, Asunción Caté reached her zenith. It is the most elegant jar of this style she could have made. The vessel is tall, slim and graceful, and the bold decoration adds the dimension of strength. It is a shame that advancing age and declining health brought such an effort to an end by 1914.

Adobe Gallery organized an exhibit of pottery by the Aguilar sisters in 2003, the first exhibit of their works ever displayed.  A small catalog of the exhibit was printed and may be available as an on-line document.  The sisters were extraordinarily talented in pottery construction and produced beautiful black on cream pottery for a long time, then they created two new designs that were not received well in its day but are now greatly appreciated by collectors.  They were very talented and certainly very artistically creative. 

Condition: excellent condition. A very small and insignificant rim chip has been professionally repaired.

Provenance: from the collection of a Colorado family

Recommended Reading: AGUILAR: Felipita and Asuncion: Santo Domingo Pueblo, circa 1910-1915.  This Adobe Gallery 2003 exhibit catalog is no longer available.