Special Value Offer: Kewa Pueblo Black-on-cream Aguilar Jar [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The consignor has requested we reduce the price of this jar by 20% from the current price of $3000 to a new price of $2400.

The Aguilar sisters were exceptional potters at Kewa Pueblo in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They made extraordinarily beautiful jars that were tall, graceful, had a high shoulder and a rolled out rim. Very few potters of the 19th century are known by name but the Aguilar sisters escaped anonymity because they experimented with creating new designs.

It has been published that they either retired or passed away around 1916 but another publication states that they entered pottery in the 1924 Santa Fe Indian Market, so the end date of their production is not known for sure but it probably did not go beyond 1925.

The plant-like element displayed on this jar is one of their designs, one that had been copied by another Kewa potter after the 1950s.  It appears to be a combination of an ear of corn with clouds and rain. 

The jar is typical of their style in which the height and diameter are very close to the same dimension, the rim is black, as were all their jars, and the red interior of the neck is polished red slip.    Typically, the shoulder of their jars is about ¾ of the way up from the base, as is this one.

RECOMMENDED READING:  Modern Pueblo Pottery Types by Frederick H. Douglas.  Denver Art Museum Leaflets 53-54, February 1933.