Native American Very Large Santo Domingo Pottery Bowl, Reportedly Ca 1930’s, #938 Reserved SN
$ 3,000.00
938. Description: Native American Very Large Santo Domingo Pottery Bowl, Reportedly Ca 1930’s.
Dimensions: 9 x 17 1/2 in. estimated weight is around 10-15 pounds.
Condition: Very good condition for its age and use. No cracks, chips or repairs. Minor scratches.
Provenance: Property of a Private Collector, Pawling, NY
Background on the Santo Domingo Pueblo and pottery making follows:
Santo Domingo Pueblo is one of the best known tribes of the southwest Indians, largely because of their skill in marketing, their jewelry and other crafts. The Pueblo is fifth in population of the nineteen New Mexico Pueblos, and is generally considered the most conservative in terms of customs and culture.
Life in the Pueblo has altered little since the arrival of the white man, Santo Domingo people have closely guarded their ceremonies, placing great emphasis on their ancient religious structures and societies, the center of the social structure.
While adhering strictly to tribal authority, much of the Pueblo productivity is devoted to the making of jewelry. They travel all over the country displaying and selling the silver and turquoise necklaces, rings and bracelets which have made them famous They also make fine heishe of turquoise and other stones and silver.
As would be expected the pottery of Santo Domingo is strictly traditional, reproducing with care, the ancient forms and decorations.
Like so many other Indian festivals, the Santo Domingo Dances attract many visitors. Among others, the Corn Dance of the patron saint’s day is very popular, as well as the Sandaro, which is a burlesque with lots of clowning.
There are other ceremonies during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
The 19 Pueblos of New Mexico are renowned for their unique and historic art forms, from the striking polychrome pottery of Acoma Pueblo to the mosaic inlay jewelry of Santo Domingo Pueblo.
“Pueblo pottery is made using a coiled technique that came into northern Arizona and New Mexico from the south, some 1500 years ago. In the four-corners region of the US, nineteen pueblos and villages have historically produced pottery. Although each of these pueblos use similar traditional methods of coiling, shaping, finishing and firing, the pottery from each is distinctive. Various clays gathered from each pueblo’s local sources produce pottery colors that range from buff to earthy yellows, oranges, and reds, as well as black. Fired pots are sometimes left plain and other times decorated—most frequently with paint and occasionally with appliqué. Painted designs vary from pueblo to pueblo, yet share an ancient iconography based on abstract representations of clouds, rain, feathers, birds, plants, animals and other natural world features.
Tempering materials and paints, also from natural sources, contribute further to the distinctiveness of each pueblo’s pottery. Some paints are derived from plants, others from minerals. Before firing, potters in some pueblos apply a light colored slip to their pottery, which creates a bright background for painted designs or simply a lighter color plain ware vessel. Designs are painted on before firing, traditionally with a brush fashioned from yucca fiber.
Different combinations of paint color, clay color, and slips are characteristic of different pueblos. Among them are black on cream, black on buff, black on red, dark brown and dark red on white (as found in Zuni pottery), matte red on red, and polychrome—a number of natural colors on one vessel (most typically associated with Hopi). Pueblo potters also produce undecorated polished black ware, black on black ware, and carved red and carved black wares.
Making pueblo pottery is a time-consuming effort that includes gathering and preparing the clay, building and shaping the coiled pot, gathering plants to make the colored dyes, constructing yucca brushes, and, often, making a clay slip. While some Pueblo artists fire in kilns, most still fire in the traditional way in an outside fire pit, covering their vessels with large potsherds and dried sheep dung. Pottery is left to bake for many hours, producing a high-fired result.
Today, Pueblo potters continue to honor this centuries-old tradition of hand-coiled pottery production, yet value the need for contemporary artistic expression as well. They continue to improve their style, methods and designs, often combining traditional and contemporary techniques to create striking new works of art.” (Source: Museum of Northern Arizona)
Dimensions: 9 x 17 1/2 in. estimated weight is around 10-15 pounds.
Condition: Very good condition for its age and use. No cracks, chips or repairs. Minor scratches.
Provenance: Property of a Private Collector, Pawling, NY
Background on the Santo Domingo Pueblo and pottery making follows:
Santo Domingo Pueblo is one of the best known tribes of the southwest Indians, largely because of their skill in marketing, their jewelry and other crafts. The Pueblo is fifth in population of the nineteen New Mexico Pueblos, and is generally considered the most conservative in terms of customs and culture.
Life in the Pueblo has altered little since the arrival of the white man, Santo Domingo people have closely guarded their ceremonies, placing great emphasis on their ancient religious structures and societies, the center of the social structure.
While adhering strictly to tribal authority, much of the Pueblo productivity is devoted to the making of jewelry. They travel all over the country displaying and selling the silver and turquoise necklaces, rings and bracelets which have made them famous They also make fine heishe of turquoise and other stones and silver.
As would be expected the pottery of Santo Domingo is strictly traditional, reproducing with care, the ancient forms and decorations.
Like so many other Indian festivals, the Santo Domingo Dances attract many visitors. Among others, the Corn Dance of the patron saint’s day is very popular, as well as the Sandaro, which is a burlesque with lots of clowning.
There are other ceremonies during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
The 19 Pueblos of New Mexico are renowned for their unique and historic art forms, from the striking polychrome pottery of Acoma Pueblo to the mosaic inlay jewelry of Santo Domingo Pueblo.
“Pueblo pottery is made using a coiled technique that came into northern Arizona and New Mexico from the south, some 1500 years ago. In the four-corners region of the US, nineteen pueblos and villages have historically produced pottery. Although each of these pueblos use similar traditional methods of coiling, shaping, finishing and firing, the pottery from each is distinctive. Various clays gathered from each pueblo’s local sources produce pottery colors that range from buff to earthy yellows, oranges, and reds, as well as black. Fired pots are sometimes left plain and other times decorated—most frequently with paint and occasionally with appliqué. Painted designs vary from pueblo to pueblo, yet share an ancient iconography based on abstract representations of clouds, rain, feathers, birds, plants, animals and other natural world features.
Tempering materials and paints, also from natural sources, contribute further to the distinctiveness of each pueblo’s pottery. Some paints are derived from plants, others from minerals. Before firing, potters in some pueblos apply a light colored slip to their pottery, which creates a bright background for painted designs or simply a lighter color plain ware vessel. Designs are painted on before firing, traditionally with a brush fashioned from yucca fiber.
Different combinations of paint color, clay color, and slips are characteristic of different pueblos. Among them are black on cream, black on buff, black on red, dark brown and dark red on white (as found in Zuni pottery), matte red on red, and polychrome—a number of natural colors on one vessel (most typically associated with Hopi). Pueblo potters also produce undecorated polished black ware, black on black ware, and carved red and carved black wares.
Making pueblo pottery is a time-consuming effort that includes gathering and preparing the clay, building and shaping the coiled pot, gathering plants to make the colored dyes, constructing yucca brushes, and, often, making a clay slip. While some Pueblo artists fire in kilns, most still fire in the traditional way in an outside fire pit, covering their vessels with large potsherds and dried sheep dung. Pottery is left to bake for many hours, producing a high-fired result.
Today, Pueblo potters continue to honor this centuries-old tradition of hand-coiled pottery production, yet value the need for contemporary artistic expression as well. They continue to improve their style, methods and designs, often combining traditional and contemporary techniques to create striking new works of art.” (Source: Museum of Northern Arizona)
