San Ildefonso Historic Polychrome Pottery Jar, circa 1900-1910

The vessel shape of this San Ildefonso Pueblo historic polychrome pottery jar with a polished red rim is spectacular. It rises from a small base, expands outward in rounded fashion, curving inward to a shoulder that is the beginning of a long graceful concave neck. The red slip extends into the interior of the neck.

The bottom third of the jar is void of design as is traditional on most jars. There is a narrow matte red band at the top of the base.

The middle third of the jar is the body and it features extraordinary design element styles, all of which evoke a motion of movement around the body of the jar. The black outlined orange element is encased with cream elements of the same motion. This was accomplished by painting black triangles with hooks at their ends. All the designs in this third of the ar are hooked in a continuous line.

The remaining third of the jar is the long and graceful neck which has black vertical hooks which further evoke movement or motion. At the tip of each hook is a black outlined orange triangle with curved walls.

There is a pair of thin framing lines at the top of the neck and an unusual cream framing line at the base of the neck design. This was achieved by leaving that area without paint on the cream background. Interestingly, this framing line has a ceremonial break created by putting black pigment over the area.

The designs are so unusual on the surface of this jar that we are not able to make an attribution to a potter and design painter at this time. The artistic floating designs on the body contrast strongly with the structured and organized designs on the neck, yet the contrast is what makes this one so appealing.

The cream slip appears to be the rag wiped Cochiti Pueblo bentonite slip that did not require stone polishing, an indication that the jar was made in the early 1900s after the introduction of the Cochiti bentonite slip by Martina Vigil and Florentino Montoya to the potters at San Ildefonso. This would indicate a date for this jar of circa 1900-1910. The polished red rim is another indication of age as potters stopped using red in favor of the use of black prior to 1910.

Condition: good condition for a jar of its age. A notation by a prior owner stated that "one piece was broken out from the rim and appears to have been reinserted." Our check with UV light does not indicate that to be true or, if so, it must be a very small replacement not detectable with UV (ultraviolet light).

Provenance: this San Ildefonso Historic Polychrome Pottery Jar, circa 1900-1910 is from the estate of a resident of Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700 - 1940 by Jonathan Batkin

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Historic Pottery