Zuni Pueblo Pair of Candlesticks with Frogs in Bas Relief [R]

Candlesticks probably had their beginnings on the pueblo after the arrival of the Spaniards. Surely the candlesticks used in the churches were the first exposure the pueblos had to such formal containers for candles. The Franciscan friars probably asked for them to be made for use in the church. From there, their use was expanded to the home.

This candlestick pair appears to date to the turn of the twentieth century. The paste materials are typically Zuni; white and chunky in texture with the centuries old temper material of ground pottery shards. The use of old shards for temper evidences the regard of the pueblo peoples for the old works made by their predecessors. To add these remnants to the new work is a sign of respect.

The candlesticks are slipped in cream-colored clay over which dazzling arrays of designs are painted in mineral brown and others with cross-hatched parallel lines of red. The base and the rim are outlined in brown.  Below the rim is a series of connected red triangles.  The highlight of the decorations is the frog in relief stretched out on the handle of each candlestick.

Condition: for historic pottery candlesticks of an age of over 100 years, these are in remarkable condition.  There is some paint abrasion consistent with the age of the items.

Provenance: from a pottery collector from Corrales, NM

Recommended Reading:  The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo by Francis Harlow and Dwight Lanmon