Week Eight: Pueblo Pottery
Dhurva S -
Welcome all to my eight blog post.
Pueblo pottery dates back thousands of years and has ingrained itself into the unique culture of Pueblos.
The most common form of pottery worldwide is the wheel-thrown method. Here, clay is placed onto a spinning wheel. Then the potter would rotate the wheel and shape the vessel. This method is not used by the Pueblo. Instead, they employ the coil and scrape method.
First, the potter would gather clay, usually from a local source.
After that, they would roll the clay into long coils. These coils would be stacked on top of each other and scraped to create the interior and exterior. Slowly, through this process, the vessel would eventually form.
When the pottery is shaped, the potter would then decide how to finish the vessel. There are two popular options for this step. The vessel would be left with a matte finish. On the other hand, the vessel will be given a glossy exterior and then polished. After this, there is the other option of painting the vessel or not. Oftentimes, pottery used for spiritual reasons would have a decorated exterior. If the pottery is being used in the home or for other common reasons, such as storage, then the exterior is not usually painted. Pottery that is painted may at first glance seem like lovely geometric shapes, but usually has a spiritual representation in any design choice. One of the most interesting design choices is seen in the top ring of the pottery. The Pueblo believe that there is a spirit in every piece of pottery. To allow this spirit to roam freely, they leave a painted opening on the top ring of the pottery so that the spirit isn’t trapped inside.
This method of pottery allows for different functional shapes that give the Pueblo pottery a distinctive quality and also create a unique relationship with Pueblo traditions. For example, a Pueblo wedding vase is a radially asymmetrical vase with two openings and a handle in between. Such shapes are crafted using this coil and scrape method.
There are various variations to each Pueblo nation’s pottery. Each of them has its own distinct styles that make it easy to recognize the origin of the vessel. The San Ildefonso Pueblo is known for its beautiful, uniformly polished black exterior. Acoma pottery, on the other hand, is usually much finer in its thickness. Each Pueblo nation has developed with its own style of pottery, and each has its own strengths in design.
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