This Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo polychrome serving bowl probably dates to pre-1940s. It has the traditional rag-wiped bentonite slip, black rim around the top, a red band wiped below the decorated section, and stone polished cream slip on the interior. The main body is decorated in two separate extremely bold design panels. Each panel is comprised of a triangular element on the left and a floral element on its right.  This design is repeated only twice on the Large Chile Serving Bowl from Kewa Pueblo. There is a large area of cream slip devoid of decoration, a concept that enhances the bold black designs. 

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Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo is associated with strong black on cream very bold designs.  The design on this Small Dough Bowl from Kewa Pueblo was achieved by painting two corners of the square panel black and painting black semicircles diagonally across the box. The remaining cream slip of the ovoid becomes part of the design concept.  The bottom of the bowl was slipped with red pigment.  The interior of the bowl is completely slipped in red clay that has been stone polished to seal the finish.  A 1-1/2-inch wide red band was wiped over the red of the interior at the rim.  I do not recall seeing this on any other Kewa pottery bowl.

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Dough bowls were not made at Zia Pueblo before the late 1700s.  Dough bowls did not materialize until the arrival of the Spaniards and their introduction of flour to the Natives.  Prior to the introduction of flour for making baked bread, there was no need for dough bowls. Many of the pueblos did not accept the Spanish bread for a hundred years or more.  Zia seems to be one of those that did not make loaf bread until later.

The experience gained in making large storage jars for storage of dried foods and other necessities eventually paved the way for potters to experiment making dough bowls.  The design elements on dough bowls have persisted almost without 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.

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I believe Louis Naranjo was the first to make bear storytellers. He once explained why he began making them. He was hunting one day and came across a female bear with two cubs. He watched the cubs playing and their antics inspired him to create the bear storyteller figurines.  

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Ada Suina has always been recognized as one of the premier Cochiti Pueblo storyteller figurine potters. Her male figurines, such as this one, have a strong, chiseled face, and the children have happy carefree expressions. She uses all natural materials and fires the figurines outdoors in the traditional manner. 

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Maria Laweka was a daughter of Damacia Cordero, the famous figurine potter from Cochiti Pueblo, and sister to Martha Arquero and Josephine Arquero, both of whom were potters of note.  It is not known if she is still making pottery figurines. 

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Senaida Pecos is not recorded in any of the published documentation of which I am aware.  I will continue searching for background information on her. This Male and Female Storyteller Figurine Pair set was made as a pair and is being offered as a pair.

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Josephine Arquero dressed this Male Storyteller Seated and Holding Three Kids in fancy clothing-a pattern shirt, decorated vest, stripe pants, colorful headband, and a bola and moccasins.  The three children are equally well dressed. Josephine Arquero is a daughter of Damacia Cordero and sister to Martha Arquero, Marie Laweka and Gloria Herrera.

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Mary and Leonard Trujillo are among the premier figurine potters at Cochiti Pueblo. Very few potters attempt large figurines anymore, but the Trujillos do and they do a fine job at it. Mary learned to make storytellers from Helen Cordero, her mother-in-law. Mary is one of the most accomplished potters at Cochiti. Leonard, her husband, has helped Mary since the 1980s. 

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This Seated Female Storyteller Holding an Infant and a Toddler is signed as J. Ortiz. This signature is by Joyce Ortiz Lewis, who is a daughter of Guadalupe and Seferina Ortiz and sister of Virgil Ortiz, all from Cochiti Pueblo. It is a beautifully made figurine with an exquisite polished finish and well-painted design.  The adult holds one infant wrapped in a blanket and a young boy in her other arm. 

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This is an early Seated Female Storyteller with 14 Kids by Seferina Ortiz, probably made in the early 1970s as it resembles the style of those known to have been made around 1972. There are 14 children on the storyteller. 

The adult female wears her hair in the traditional chonga, she has a squash blossom necklace and bracelets on each wrist.  The children are dressed in different clothing from each other.

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This Traditional Kewa Pueblo Chile Serving Bowl, like many chile bowls, is decorated on the exterior with black painted designs that face back-to-back and would overlay one another if one was laid over another one.  The interior is a beautiful cream color, stone-polished, highly burnished finish. The rim is painted black and features a ceremonial line break.  There is a pair of black framing line at the rim and a pair of them below the design. The ceremonial line break at the rim continues through the framing lines and design panel.

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Jaclas are comprised of two loops of turquoise and shell strung individually and then tied together in a fashion by which they can be hung from a nugget necklace.  Originally, in the 19th century, each of the units was made for use as earrings.  When not being worn, they were hung on a nugget necklace for storage.  Eventually, their use as earrings ceased and their use as a pendant on a necklace became permanent. 

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Harrison Begay is probably the most famous of the Navajo artists. He had a long and distinguished career. He started painting while attending the Santa Fe Indian School and began to paint full time after returning from service in World War II. 

This painting depicts a young Navajo girl tending her colt while accompanied by her faithful dog companion. A guardian rainbow Yei provides protection for the trio.

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Rick Dillingham built his vessels in the traditional pueblo fashion of coils, not using a potter's wheel. He chose this most elemental form of construction, perhaps, because of his absolute love of pueblo pottery. His palette of colors soothes the visual senses without a shock to the system. One cannot simply look at his pottery, it demands to be held and caressed as the sensual object that it is.

The top of the vessel is glazed with color highlights of shades of light green, in an arrangement that produces a striking balance in asymmetry.  The jar is typical of Dillingham's early works while he was attending the University of New Mexico. The top layer is a round relatively flat slab with a hole in the center.  The underside is comprised of strips of clay crisscrossed in an apple pie crust arrangement. 

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This Traditional Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo) Chile Stew Serving Bowl, like many chile bowls, is decorated on the exterior with black painted designs that are outlined in black triangles that alternate facing up and down.  The interior is a beautiful cream color, rag-wiped finish.  The rim is painted black and in devoid of a ceremonial line break.  Perhaps the artist did not want to deface her design with a line break passing through it. There is a single black framing line just below the rim and just below the design panel

Bowls like this one are used for serving food at home and for serving food during ceremonies.  Residents take bowls of food to the plaza during dance ceremonies.

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Deerslayer's Dream is obviously a pleasant dream in which the hunter sees an almost unlimited number of deer.  Helen provided a ceremonial connection between the deer hunter and the deer by putting a "heartline" on both, a symbol of life often seen on pottery imagery but never on human imagery. 

Helen Hardin had only begun working with the etching process in 1980 and, by 1981, when she completed Deerslayer's Dream, she had most certainly mastered the technique. The is a multi-colored hand-printed etching executed on three copper plates-to achieve colors red, ochre, and brown. 

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Daryl Duane Whitegeese is the son of LuAnn Tafoya.  Growing up in the Tafoya family of potters, it was inevitable that Daryl would eventually be tempted to work with clay.  He said he made his first complete pot when he was 32 years old.  He learned the techniques from his mother, LuAnn, and his grandmother, Margaret Tafoya.  He could not have found better teachers.  He has been making pottery about 20 years now and has mastered all the techniques to perfection.

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LuAnn Tafoya, a daughter of Margaret Tafoya, certainly inherited the talent to produce beautifully sculpted jars with outrageously burnished surfaces. She has made jars almost three feet tall, a feat not easily accomplished. Her grandmother, Sara Fina Tafoya, was a masterful potter, as was her mother, Margaret, who, in turn, passed on this artistic gene to nine children and numerous grandchildren. 

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Linda Tafoya formerly signed her pottery Linda Tafoya Oyenque, now she signs as Linda Tafoya-Sanchez.  Same person, same beautiful pottery.  She is a daughter of Lee and Betty Tafoya and granddaughter of Margaret Tafoya.  She credits her aunt Mary Ester Archuleta for training her to be a potter.  Sara Fina Tafoya seems to have set the standard for members of her family and their output of black pottery.  All the family members produce magnificent pottery. 

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