Evelyn Vigil, Jemez Pueblo Potter

Evelyn Vigil of Jemez Pueblo and her daughter, Andrea Vigil Fragua, as well as Juanita Toya Toledo and Persingula M. Casiquito, deserve much credit for their productive efforts in promoting a revival of Pecos glaze ware pottery.

A government program was initiated in the 1970s to investigate reviving the long-abandoned glaze ware pottery that had been produced at Pecos Pueblo between 1250 and 1700.  No current pueblo was making glaze ware, nor had any done so since the 1700s. Peco Pueblo had been abandoned in 1828 when the remaining 38 village residents chose to leave their village and move, as a group, to Jemez Pueblo.  They were accepted by the Jemez people. Interestingly, none of the descendants of the Pecos group participated in the revival.  

Evelyn Vigil (1921-1998) was an exceptional potter and spent years investigating various glazes and their location in an attempt to find the right source, which she apparently did locate.  She successfully revived glaze ware pottery and produced a number of revival pieces the remainder of her life.

Reference: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2,000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf.

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Jemez Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery

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