San Ildefonso Pueblo Historic Polychrome Pictorial Pottery Jar, circa 1910 [SOLD]

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Potter Once Known

This historic San Ildefonso Pueblo pictorial pottery jar is filled with charming and happy imagery.  If one starts an analysis at the midpoint of the jar, where two parallel horizontal lines separate the area into two zones, then it appears that those designs below the lines are traditional floral and cloud elements and those above the parallel lines add a bit of humor.  

Continuity of design was realized by the back-to-back mirror-image black arches with a single hole.  This repetition was repeated with the multi-colored floral elements attached to the black arches. The shift in similarity of upper and lower designs then occurs at the location of the birds.  The opposite design of the bird is a rain cloud, not another bird. This is repeated for all four birds.

The jar has a rag-wiped cream slip which helps establish a date of approximately circa 1910.  The cream slip covers the jar from rim to base, eliminating the traditional beige underbody. The jar has a slight tilt which has been corrected by a previous owner through attachment of clear pads on the underside, which are safely and completely removal if one wishes to do so.  There is a single fire cloud in the area under the design and near the base.


Condition: this jar is in very good condition

Provenance: this San Ildefonso Pueblo Historic Polychrome Pictorial Pottery Jar, circa 1910 is from a private collection from Colorado

Recommended Reading: Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700 - 1940 by Jonathan Batkin

Relative Links: Southwest Indian PotterySan Ildefonso PuebloHistoric Pottery


Potter Once Known
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