Historic Santa Clara Pueblo Stone-polished Black Globular Jar [SOLD]

There probably has never been a more beautiful vessel shape than that of the Tewa olla with its rounded body and tall graceful neck that ends in a flared-out rim. The simplicity of the plain polished black finish is a perfect way not to detract from the vessel shape. The burnishing is consistent with the time period of the decade of 1930s.

This Santa Clara Pueblo jar has been burnished to a beautiful sheen from top to bottom.  The vessel sits in a level position and is a commanding presence.

Most collectors assume, or have been told, that smothering pottery during the firing process creates a carbon smoke that penetrates the pottery, turning it black. Even though several books describing black Pueblo pottery attribute the color change to carbon, the reduction of iron oxide is actually the correct mechanism. Ceramicists, describing ancient styles of Old World pottery, state that iron impurities in clay form red oxide at red heat, but if air is lacking during firing, iron impurities in clay form black magnetite.

Condition: The jar is in excellent structural condition, with only a couple of very small rim chips and very minor surface scratches consistent with what one would expect on a jar of this age.

Provenance:  from a collector from Taos, New Mexico

Recommended Reading:  Santa Clara Pottery Today by Betty LeFree