Kewa Pueblo Deep Chile Bowl with Bold Arrow Designs [SOLD]

Santo Domingo members are known as being the most aggressive traders in a pueblo that otherwise is considered very conservative.  Santo Domingo men boarded the trains that passed the pueblo daily, starting in 1880, to sell pottery being made by the female family members.  Sales such as these provided funds for the purchase of supplies and foods from stores or the trading post.  The leaders at the pueblo tolerated the men selling pottery to outsiders but frowned upon and discouraged the women from dealing with outsiders.  The elders also forbade the sale of other pueblo items such as costuming or clothing used in dance celebrations.

The railroad line was only a quarter mile from the pueblo making it easy for the men to board to sell their wares and some stayed on all the way to Gallup and then boarded the return train to the pueblo. 

This chile bowl bears the name of Torivio Calabaza on the underside that was painted and fired in so it would be the name of the maker of the bowl.  A paper label on the base states a date of c1950s.  The bowl appears to have been made to sell and not for use at the pueblo. It has a modernist design of bars of black triangles and rectangles in mirror image offset to one side of the oval cream background.  The rim is black and has a ceremonial line break that penetrates the design panel completely.  The interior is polished red slip.

Condition: there is a 2-1/2” vertical crack from the rim but the bowl appears stable.   

Recommended Reading:  A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti & Santo Domingo Pueblos, edited by Valerie K. Verzuh.

Provenance: from the collection of a New Mexico family.