Kewa Pueblo Three-Color Asuncion Aguilar Caté Pottery Jar

Two sisters from Santo Domingo Pueblo — Asunción Aguilar Caté and Felipita Aguilar Garcia — were highly accomplished potters known for creating tall, slender water jars with refined workmanship in the traditional Black-on-cream style of their pueblo. Around 1910, as interest in their pottery began to wane, they shared their concerns with Julius Seligman, the local trader. He encouraged them to experiment with new decorative techniques, advice they took to heart.

In response, the sisters introduced a bold new approach to pottery design. They began using large areas of black outlined with thin lines of cream slip, and in another variation, incorporated both black and red areas outlined in the same delicate manner. Asunción appeared to favor the black-and-red combination, while Felipita leaned toward the strong visual impact of predominantly black designs.

This particular jar represents Asunción Caté at her finest. The form is tall, slim, and graceful, and the painted design brings a striking sense of power and balance. It stands as a masterful example of her mature work. Sadly, due to declining health, she ceased potting around 1914, making pieces like this increasingly rare.

The jar remains structurally intact, with no breaks or repairs. Conservation work has been professionally done to stabilize and restore areas of the painted surface, including touch-ups to the black and cream pigments. The unslipped underbody shows slight exfoliation, which has been left untreated. Overall, the conservation enhances the jar's appearance without diminishing its historical or aesthetic value.

Condition: very good condition, with some exfoliated surface areas that have been overpainted; structurally sound overall.

Provenance: This Kewa Pueblo Three-Color Asuncion Aguilar Caté Pottery Jar is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery.

Recommended Reading: THE POTTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO: A Detailed Study of its Decoration. Memoirs of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Volume 1, Santa Fe. 1936. Chapman, Kenneth M. (1875-1968)

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Kewa - Santo Domingo Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery, Ceremonial breaks, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Caté, and Mrs. Ramos Aguilar