San Ildefonso Pueblo Polychrome Historic Pottery Jar with Pendant Designs [SOLD]

The first thing Adobe Gallery checks on an historic San Ildefonso Pueblo pottery jar is whether the cream slip was rag wiped or stone polished, as that is a clue as to whether the jar dates to pre- or post-1905, the date that is accepted as the beginning of the use of the Cochiti slip which only required rag polishing.  Prior to that, the slip used at San Ildefonso required stone polishing. This jar has the San Ildefonso stone polished cream slip, so we are selecting a date of circa 1895-1905 for its creation.

The jar was made in the shape of the previous Powhoge Polychrome wares that date to 1850-1880:  that is, a rounded body and slightly curving neck, with a design division between the body and neck.  It was during this transition period from Powhoge Polychrome to San Ildefonso Polychrome that the potters abandoned the red rim in favor of a black rim.  The rim on this jar was painted black.  

It is quite likely that this jar was made by one of the eight pueblo potters listed in the Federal census of 1910, but we cannot assign its manufacture to one of them as the design is quite different from any documented jars of which we are aware.  It is a clean and sparse design, one leaving a large area of undecorated cream slip visible. The design is very symmetrical and each element is repeated throughout the vessel. There are hooks on the neck and pendant elements on the body. The attractiveness of the jar is its organized and sparse design.

Condition: this San Ildefonso Pueblo Polychrome Historic Pottery Jar with Pendant Designs is in very good condition

Provenance: from a private collection of a Colorado resident

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

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Historic Pottery