Adobe Gallery Blog

Without question, the first impression one has of this magnificent large storage jar is that it was made at Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Pueblo in the late 1800s.  We have been conditioned to see such a jar as being made only at San Juan because the placement of the red slip only partially down the vessel wall and the numerous fire clouds are traditional to San Juan Pueblo.

Thanks to studies by Frank Harlow and Jonathan Batkin, we know to look more closely to the materials of the vessel rather than only to its surface manifestations.  The paste of San Juan Pueblo pottery, and of its sister Tewa Pueblos, is tan in color and can be witnessed on the stone-polished un-slipped bases of most jars.  An examination of this storage jar reveals that the paste is not of the type used at the Tewa Pueblos.

Would you like to know more?