Adobe Gallery Blog
Zuni Pueblo Polychrome Jar Attributed to Tsayutitsa - C3888A
Zuni Pueblo potters, except for a few, have never been appreciated for outstanding application of design, unlike their closest neighbors, the Acoma potters. Zuni clay is more porous than that at Acoma and more difficult to obtain a smooth egg-shell hard surface on which to paint designs. The slip used does not appear to respond to a hard burnish, leaving a poorer surface on which to paint.
It is recognized that, by 1920, there were only a dozen good potters at Zuni making excellent pottery. Most other potters had been convinced by the new trader, C. G. Wallace, who opened a trading post at the pueblo in 1918, to make small beaded items. He was reluctant to ship pottery so this was his solution. He was purchasing over 600 beaded items daily at one point. Pottery production suffered seriously because of Wallace's actions.