Historic Kewa Pueblo Large and Deep Pottery Dough Bowl [SOLD]

Pueblos are associated with certain pottery designs that become somewhat a hallmark of their pottery. San Ildefonso is associated with eagle feather and Avanyu designs, Santa Clara has become associated with the impressed bear paw, Acoma Pueblo is tied to its fine line work and Zuni Pueblo is associated with the heart line deer.

The most prominent designs associated with Santo Domingo Pueblo are large areas of exposed cream slip, boxed into sections, and then trimmed around the edges in black pigment.  Occasionally, as on this bowl, a design is prominently displayed on the cream area. Each potter may treat such a pattern slightly different, but overall, it comes out appearing quite the same.

The artist created large rectangular sections, outlined in black, filled the upper left and lower right corners with black pigment and placed a pair of mirror image designs in a diagonal fashion within the box.  The rim was painted black and a pair of framing lines placed below the design section. The underbody was stone polished with red slip.

The slight incurved rim is a technique that strengthens the vessel wall.  It also provides a surface for scraping dough from one's hands and having it fall into the bowl rather than outside the bowl.  There is a nice fire cloud on one part of the design.

Condition: this Historic Kewa Pueblo Large and Deep Pottery Dough Bowl is in very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a Santa Fe resident.

Recommended Reading: A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos by Valerie Verzuh, et al.