Kewa Pueblo Historic Polychrome Olla with Birds and Flowers [SOLD]

This is one of the more unique Santo Domingo Polychrome jars we have encountered. The body of the vessel is globular and rises to a graceful neck that is short in comparison to most jars. This shape is most appealing from a visual sense and provided the potter with a larger area on which to lay the design. There are three traditional polychrome birds separated by three long-stem black flowers. The flowers extend from the lower framing lines to the neck of the vessel, made possible by the elongated vessel shape.

The vessel exhibits the classic traits of Santo Domingo Polychrome. The under body is concave and stone-polished bare paste with a rag-wiped red band applied just below the design area. The cream/off-white is rag-wiped bentonite slip with black and brick red vegetal designs and subtle fire clouding and outstanding patina. There is a ceremonial break through the double framing lines just above the base of the jar. The interior of the neck is slipped in red clay and stone polished and the rim is black with a ceremonial line break. Clouds are pendant from the double framing lines just below the rim. All these items contribute to the jar being very traditional Santo Domingo Polychrome in origin from the decade of the 1910s.

Condition: excellent condition with a subtle fire cloud on one side of the vessel

Provenance: this Kewa Pueblo Historic Polychrome Olla with Birds and Flowers is from the estate of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti & Santo Domingo Pueblos by Valerie Verzuh

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Historic Pottery, Cochiti Pueblo, Kewa Pueblo - Santo Domingo Pueblo