Traditional Isleta 19th Century Pottery

The most beautiful pottery ever made at Isleta Pueblo is the plain-ware vessels that could be referred to as Red-on-tan typology. It is often misidentified as San Juan Pueblo Red-on-tan, but there is a distinct difference in paste, slip, temper and vessel shape.

Sand was used as temper in Isleta wares. The red slip painted or wiped on the outside of the rim was reddish brown or brick color, unlike the deep red slip used at San Juan. The interior of the bowl was slipped in the same red used on the band just below the rim, probably to act as a sealer. The remainder of the vessel was not slipped—only stone polished to the natural clay.

Decoration was limited to a beautiful array of deliberate fire clouds spread throughout the exterior of the vessel. The gray-black fire clouds displayed against the orange background of the vessel provide a striking contrast that could not be more beautiful.

This traditional style of Isleta pottery gradually disappeared in the early 20th Century, as the tourist preferred the Polychrome type being made by the Laguna ladies who migrated and settled at Isleta Pueblo.