Black Carved Tall Neck San Ildefonso Jar [SOLD]

Rose Gonzales was born at San Juan Pueblo (now Ohkay Owingeh) in 1900 and, soon after, became an orphan when her parents died from the flu epidemic. She and her sister survived by attending the Santa Fe Indian School in residence. She married Robert Gonzales of San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1920 and moved to his pueblo at that time. She learned the art of pottery making from Robert's mother, Ramona Sanchez Gonzales.

Rose experimented for years with blackware, redware, black-on-black ware and carved ware. She became very proficient at all styles.  This tall-neck black jar features her distinctive carved Avanyu (water serpent) which is recognizable as her style.  Rose used a sharp knife and chisel to carve the design and then sanded the edges to create a more rounded form to the design.  She fired her pottery using juniper wood and dried cow dung.

Rose frequently fired up to twenty pots in a single firing, a feat most potters will not try.  If one pot explodes during firing, it could damage all the pots surrounding it causing a great loss.  Rose was confident enough in her work not to worry about a pot exploding.  She would fire redware and blackware in the same firing.  She first removed the red pots from the fire then smothered the fire with pulverized manure and left the remaining pots in the firing for another hour or so to produce blackware.  Most potters fire redware and blackware in separate firings.

By the 1930s, Rose was very proficient at making pottery in black and red finishes and she would use them to trade for food which she used to feed eleven people in her family.  Eventually, she made a good living selling pottery and she achieved fame as one of the major potters of the 20^th century.

This jar is a major contribution by Rose Gonzales.  It sits straight and has a beautiful black polished surface and an exquisitely carved Avanyu design.  It stands as a masterpiece by a master potter.

Recommended Reading:  Fourteen Families in Pueblo Pottery by Rick Dillingham (1952-1994). This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Condition: very good condition

Provenance:  from the estate of the former Chief Sunny Skies Trading Post, located on the main street in Carlsbad, New Mexico, for over 40 years and which was closed in 1977.  Chief Sunny Sky, whose other name was Clyde Hunt, was from Acoma Pueblo.  He was the son of Chief Big Snake (Edward Hunt) also of Acoma Pueblo.  This collection has remained in the family since the trading post was closed in 1977.