Adobe Gallery Blog

Before the arrival of a contingent of families from Laguna Pueblo in the 1870s, Isleta pottery was simple, elegant and undecorated except for beautiful fire clouds.  After the Laguna potters settled in at their new home, they introduced Laguna-style polychrome decorated wares at Isleta and that style eventually came to be known as Isleta pottery.

Isleta pre-1900 pottery was made from tan earth-color clay over which was applied red slip that was then stone polished.  Sand was used as temper.  The potters who were traditionalists at Isleta did not switch over and start making the Laguna-style pottery.  Those older potters continued making their traditional wares as late as the 1920s.  Traditional Isleta redware pottery was embellished with a wide red band on the exterior wall at the rim of the jar.  In this jar, the exterior red band measures about 2-1/2 inches wide.  On the interior, there is also a red band at the rim which measures ½ inch wide.

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