Isleta Pueblo Pottery

Isleta Pueblo pottery is not the most abundant among pueblo pottery that exists today. Before 1880, potters there made utilitarian red-ware pieces for their own use. They used sand as a tempering agent, the bowls had thick walls, and there was no decoration other than fire clouds. As a result, there was little to no interest by collectors in acquiring Isleta pottery.

Around 1879, a group of Laguna families, who had split from their native village, settled at Isleta Pueblo in a village they named Oraibi. It was the Laguna potters who introduced Polychrome pottery to Isleta, eventually replacing the traditional Isleta Red-on-tan pottery. Small pieces of pottery were made in large quantities and taken into Albuquerque every day where they were sold to the passengers on the AT&SF train traveling between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Manufacture of the traditional Isleta red ware pottery had ceased shortly after the arrival of the Laguna colony. All the new Isleta potters preferred to learn the Laguna way rather than the Isleta way. Manufacture and sales of the Laguna style Polychrome pottery at Isleta continued until around 1950, at which time it practically ceased. By this time, train travel throughout the United States hit an all-time low. There were very few tourists traveling through Albuquerque on the train so there was no central location for the potters to sell their wares. Within a decade, the AT&SF management razed the old Alvarado Hotel and Indian Shop in Albuquerque. A tradition was at its end.

We have put together a few pieces of both styles of Isleta pottery—some of the old red ware and some of the Polychrome pieces—all dating from around 1890 to 1930. We hope you enjoy the exhibit.