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Historic Zuni Pueblo Large White-on-red Olla - C3776U
Starting as early as 1840, potters at Zuni Pueblo have been producing wares that have been classified as Zuni Polychrome. Now, 175 years later, they are still being made. During that time span, other styles have come and gone. Perhaps some potters or families tired of doing the same style and began experimenting with something new.
One of these short-lived experiments was pottery slipped in red and decorated in white. It apparently began around 1890 and ended in the 1920s, a short period of around 30 years. The new style could have been influenced by sherds from prehistoric St. Johns Polychrome from near the current Zuni Pueblo boundaries, or from prehistoric sherds being excavated at Hawikuh and Halona villages. Anthropologists could have shown sherds to potters or potters could have unearthed sherds themselves for use as temper. It is easy to see that these White-on-red wares of the late 1800s had a precedent at or near Zuni and were not a completely new innovation dreamed up by potters of the day.