Zia Historic Dough Bowl with Traditional Designs

Timeless Elegance: A Detailed Examination of a Zia Pueblo Dough Bowl

This is an extraordinary dough bowl, and although it was most certainly a utilitarian piece, it is in quite remarkable condition considering its age and usage. Made with long-standing, traditional designs, it is unmistakably a Zia Pueblo bowl.

Containing a customary brick red color on the underbody, a thin cream band separates the lower portion and the upper, decorated half. The same cream white color was used in the slip, which was a common practice in the making of almost all Zia dough bowls. On this bowl there are black, kite-shaped, stylized birds seen as a part of the motif, and what look to be floral symbols set on rectangular cream slips occurring twice around.

In observing the cadre figure, an extremely familiar design seen on Zia dough bowls, the orange-colored pupil is seen to be triangular, with an extra cream line underneath. This indicates the date of this bowl is likely no older than the 1880s. The cadre figure referred to is the orange vertical figure, surrounded by cream color, and situated within the stepped orange element. The reference for this dating method comes from the book The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon.

The shape of this bowl is incredibly well done too, and it is of an impressive size. The rim contains no flare, which gives the bowl a simple yet elegant form.

Dough bowls apparently were not made at Zia Pueblo before the late 1700s, possibly because of the difficulty in firing such large vessels or perhaps because smaller bowls served the purpose and larger ones were not needed. The experience gained in making large storage jars for storage of dried foods and other necessities eventually paved the way for potters to experiment with making dough bowls. The design elements on dough bowls have persisted with relatively minimal change since the first ones were made. This design was first developed on water jars during the San Pablo Polychrome period (1760-1820) and then used in dough bowls even into the present Zia Polychrome period.

Condition: good condition with some evidence of wear and usage, one small chip on the rim

Provenance: this Zia Historic Dough Bowl with Traditional Designs is from the estate of a former client of Adobe Gallery

Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo, Historic Pottery