Kewa Pueblo Jar with Circular Designs [SOLD]

*Santo Domingo potters have traditionally stayed with design patterns used by their mothers and grandmothers and rarely deviated from that policy.  It is not unexpected that this jar from the 1920s would feature a very traditional Santo Domingo design of a series of cream circles created by outlining the surrounding area in black pigment.  Every other one is connected to its neighbor with a narrow line penetrating the black.  The neck design is simply trapezoids created by black curves as outlines.

The designs on this jar are simple and one of the most desired by collectors.  They represent the clean and uncluttered concept prevalent at Santo Domingo in the early 20th century.  The circle elements on the main body are bold and strong and that is their appeal.

The jar shows evidence of having been used as a water jar, however, the painted design has not been affected.  There is a wide red band wiped on at the top of the red underbody, a good indication of a 1920s period.

Condition:  good condition with a very small hole at the base, a small chip at the rim,  and minor abrasions to the painted surface. A half-inch spot on the lower body has flaked off.

Provenance: this Kewa Pueblo Jar with Circular Designs is from a family from California

Recommended Reading: A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos

*Note: in 2009, Santo Domingo Pueblo's tribal council decided to change the pueblo's name back to the ancestral name Kewa Pueblo (pronounced KEE-wah)