Tesuque Pueblo Historic Pictorial Jar [SOLD]

Early merchants in Santa Fe, such as Jake Gold, who had a shop as early as 1883, and J. S. Candelario, who first opened in 1907, were among the first to influence potters at nearby pueblos to make items that the merchants felt they could sell to the travelers on the train that brought tourists to Santa Fe as early as 1920.  The Fred Harvey Company heavily advertised the Indian cultures of New Mexico to increase the numbers of guests in his hotels.

Candelario’s Shop was on East San Francisco Street in Santa Fe.  He was instrumental in encouraging potters to make smaller vessels that could easily travel with the train tourists.  He also was influential in getting potters to make “typically Indian” objects that could serve as souvenirs for the travelers.

This jar is quite likely a circa 1920s production from Tesuque Pueblo, the closest pueblo to Santa Fe.  Pictorial jars of this nature would not have had any functional use at the pueblo.  More traditional designs would have been used for local use at home. 

This jar has a wonderful human figure clearly identified as an Indian Clown.  There is also an eagle, a butterfly, a rabbit and a cross form enclosed in a stepped element.

A paper note inside the jar states “From the Candelario Collection, Santa Fe, N. Mex.  Purchased by Josh Phil Sty Meadow in 1947-49? Story is that this is a work of a child whose Indian muse was teaching him to make a pot.”

This story is probably not true as it is not likely that a female potter would be teaching a young male to make pottery at that time as pottery was the work of women, not males, in the 1920s-1940s.  It is, however, quite likely that the jar is from the Candelario Collection.

The pictorial elements on the jar are wonderful and provide clear documentation of how the pueblo potters accommodated the needs of the merchants.  The fact that the potter labeled the clown as such is a good indication that she thought the buyer should know her intent.

Condition: very good condition with one pop-out below the rabbit.

Provenance: from the personal collection of Robert Nichols, Santa Fe

Recommended Reading: The Native American Curio Trade in New Mexico by Jonathan Batkin