Shopping - Pottery

With 19 pueblos scattered across its 121,598 square miles, New Mexico has a rich history of Pueblo pottery. The origins of Pueblo pottery are rooted in the brownware tradition that spread northward into the Southwest from Mexico before 400 A.D. The knowledge likely came from the Indians of Mexico who shared methods of transforming coils of damp clay into pots using fingers and stones and then of firing the vessels in primitive, outdoor kilns.

By 600 A.D. the Pueblo people of the Colorado Plateau had transformed the technology from Mexico into the black, white and gray pottery tradition linked with Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon in the Four Corners region.

At San Ildefonso, fabled potter Maria Martinez, and her husband, Julian, revived an ancient style of creating matte black designs on polished pottery. At Cochití, Helen Cordero shaped the first storyteller figurine in 1964. Contemporary potters continue the traditions, and their vast repertoire of work leaves a lasting impression.

Today, traditional Pueblo pottery of New Mexico is a highly collectible art form that remains an essential part of daily Pueblo life. Contemporary Pueblo potters employ a range of colors and techniques, sometimes opting for the reliability of an electric kiln over the unpredictability of outdoor firing pits fueled by wood or manure. Their work often reflects a style particular to their pueblo, because the color, consistency and strength of clay changes across New Mexico and techniques and traditions vary among pueblos.

In the northern pueblos of Taos and Picurís, potters produce micaceous pottery, strengthened by glittering pieces of mica found in mountain clay. South of Santa Fe, Zia potters combine clay with crushed volcanic rock to create refined water pots decorated with birds and flowers. Artists at neighboring Santa Ana mix clay with river sand and produce large-scale red designs outlined partially in black.

Some of the most prized pottery comes from Acoma — marked by thin walls and painted with birds, flowers and geometric designs in black, white and ocher — and from San Ildefonso and Santa Clara, where artists produce the famous polished black pottery.

Pueblo potters have at their hands an astounding array of symbols, both traditional and contemporary, that have long expressed a kinship with nature. The designs — painted, scratched or incised into the clay — can be interpreted in numerous ways, from a split feather representing eagle feathers to a line of steps indicating a ladder leading in and out of a kiva (an underground ceremonial chamber used for spiritual practices). A Pueblo potter can coax life from clay, infusing a humble bean pot, intricate wedding jar or amusing storyteller figurine with the spirit of its maker and the essence of the earth it came from.

Many Pueblo potters place a line break in their designs that mirrors the spirit line Native American weavers often include in their creations. Some potters believe the line break allows the spirit of the pot to escape once it cracks or breaks.

New Mexico’s Pueblo potters have dug clay from their native land for 2,000 years, passing along cherished traditions from one pair of hands to another. Much like Pueblo stories, told from one generation to the next to preserve cultural and spiritual beliefs, the pottery represents a way of life that remains inextricably linked to the natural world.

Duane Anderson, former director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and Eric Blinman, director of the Office of Archaeological Studies, provided information for this article.