Red Jar with Bear Medallion and Bear Figurine Lid

Dora Tse-Pé, a San Ildefonso Pueblo potter, completed this jar in 1991. It is a beautifully burnished red slip except for the circular medallion which is covered in micaceous beige slip over which Dora carved a black bear figure. As a boundary for the medallion, she inserted a string of turquoise heishi into the clay.  As seen in older pottery with painted designs, she left a spirit line in the turquoise.

The beauty of the red polished slip transforms the beige clay to a heightened level of sophistication. Dora Tse-Pé has always produced dramatic pottery and this is another example of one made in the last 30 years of her career..

Dora Tse-Pé is recognized as a master potter, and was awarded the title Master of Indian Market. She had always been a perfectionist in her art career. She achieved a beautifully smooth burnish and an exceptional firing to her pottery.

Dora Tse-Pé (1939-2022) was born at Zia Pueblo, the daughter of Candelaria Gachupin and granddaughter of Rosalie Toribio, both of whom "taught her the sacred and spiritual significance of the clay, of Mother Earth, Father Sun, and of the life-giving water. Her mother and grandmother made sure she understood the importance of these forces in creating pottery. Like Rosalie Aguilar and Rose Gonzales, a generation before, Dora married into San Ildefonso. In 1961, she married Tse-Pé, a fine potter. His mother was Rose Gonzales, who also had married into San Ildefonso, but from San Juan Pueblo." [Schaaf, 2000]

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Red Jar with Bear Medallion and Bear Figurine Lid is from the estate of a resident of Santa Fe who purchased it in May 1991 from Southwest Trading, St. Charles, IL

Recommended Reading: Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Reference: Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf. 2000.

TAGS: Popovi Da, Tony Da, Southwest Indian Pottery, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Contemporary, Zia Pueblo, Dora Tse-Pé