Ohkay Owingeh Traditional Red-over-tan Storage Jar [SOLD]

This is a very traditional Red-on-tan jar dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s. The upper half of the vessel was slipped in red clay from the pueblo and then stone-polished to a high luster. It is a beautiful dark red of the color seen in pre-1900 vessels. The underbody is the natural, unslipped, tan clay of the full vessel that was stone polished without the addition of slip. The natural unslipped interior of the jar was stone polished as well.

The shape of the jar is very pleasing. It flares out from the bottom and gracefully curves inward before rising to a short neck that has a gentle concave shape. There are beautiful fire clouds on the tan underbody and on the polished red area that add tremendously to the beauty of the vessel.

The interior of the jar shows evidence of functional use during some time past.  There is some exfoliation on the interior bottom and areas of white residue in the lower part of the vessel interior.

According to Batkin, pottery making at this pueblo almost died out by 1900 except for an occasional piece made for household use or for sale or trade. There was a revival in the 1930s but it was of a different style. It is difficult to find pieces of this size from this time period.