Adobe Gallery Blog

Pottery making at this pueblo almost died out around 1900 except for a few women who made pottery for their own use. There was no market for these rather plain undecorated vessels. It is believed that this small jar dates to around 1900 or a little earlier but it is difficult to date pottery from Ohkay Owingeh because there was little to no change in them over the decades.

The arrival of the Spaniards in the late 1500s had very little effect on pottery production at the pueblos in either shape or design, but by the 1700s, there were noticeable changes. Still later, with the opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821 and the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in 1880, change became inevitable at pueblos located close to the non-Indian populations.

San Juan Pueblo, now Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, stuck to its original pottery traditions of simple undecorated utilitarian wares that were so beautiful in vessel shape and simple slipped surfaces highlighted by fire clouds. Even today, a hundred years after the pueblo abandoned its traditional style for a more modern style to appeal to tourists and collectors, the beautiful undecorated wares of the pueblo are still capturing the eyes of collectors.

The red-slipped upper half of the jar is a deeper red color than that seen on jars of a slightly later period. The underbody is the natural, un-slipped, tan clay of the full vessel that was stone polished without the addition of slip. The natural un-slipped interior of the jar was stone polished as well.

It is quite possible this jar was made for sale and not for use at the pueblo as it is generally believed that there was no use for vessels of this size at the pueblo, but that cannot be verified. It certainly could have been made as a teaching aid to a young potter or could have served as a container for small collectibles. The slight off-center of the opening and slight slant to the top rim would lean to attributing it to a beginning potter or one who had not fully matured into an accomplished artisan.

The jar has a wonderfully rich dark red to almost brown upper half with fire clouds on one side.

Condition: structurally in very good condition with some surface slip abrasion
Provenance: from a gentleman in Santa Fe
Recommended Reading: Pueblo Pottery of the New Mexico Indians: Ever Constant, Ever Changing by Betty Toulouse

Subject: Ohkay Owingeh Child-size Water Jar
Potter Unknown
Category: Historic
Origin: Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (San Juan)
Medium: clay
Size: 5-3/8" tall x 7" diameter
Item # 25613