Posted 9 years ago
Foofighter
(13 items)
This is southwestern Native American. Could be Zuni...not sure of it's age.
Measures approximately 6 x 4 x 2
Again I will note that it is very heavy and dense.
Fired clay, black.
Native American Southwestern Fired Bird Bowl | ||
| Native American Antiques1059 of 1959 |  |  |
It's pottery...fired clay. Traditional black on black pottery made for the tourist trade.
Two southwest pueblos made these, San Ildefonso and Santa Clara. so unless it's signed, it's difficult to tell which it's from. (Zuni have never made black on black pottery.)
The clay is from local pueblo land, the pottery is hand-formed, and fired outdoors in a bonfire. The specific firing process turns the clay either red or black, depending on whether or not oxygen is present. The black is a result of oxygen reduction, or blocking the oxygen from reaching the pottery.
Okay...thank you. But, I'm curious though because, We have other Native American pottery and relative to it's size - it's awfully heavy. It almost feels like bone density. The texture feels different.
And...it's incredibly hard, similar to what petrified wood would feel like.
Maria and Julian Martinez, husband created the black on black style. They're from the San Ildefonso Pueblo and you might want to start your research there. If this does happen to be one of their creations, who knows at this point...you would have to have it appraised. And don't let that crack deter you. There are many that would love to have one with that, rather than have none at all.
Just thought I'd chime in on this one ;)
If you want a reference, these are shown in "Southwestern Pottery, Anasazi to Zuni" by Allan Hayes and John Blom, as well as in their book "Collections of Southwestern Pottery, Candlesticks to Canteens, Frogs to Figurines." Here are also a couple completed eBay auctions: 331569975949, and 231564711260
The majority of these were made by Santa Clara potters. Early ones were made for ashtrays, more recent ones just decorative little dishes.
This might be San Ildefonso, but it wouldn't be by Maria Martinez. She was known for her extremely thin, lightweight pottery, first of all, and secondly, she realized the added value of signing her pieces. She was the first pueblo potter to do so. Since this is decorated, and she didn't decorate her pottery herself, she would have signed it with "Marie + Julian." But it isn't her work. It just doesn't have the fine gunmetal polished finish she was famous for, nor the overall skilled craftsmanship.
I might add, it is fired, but not glazed, so it isn't waterproof and should never be washed. And, most importantly, should never have tape or sticky price tags stuck on it. They will permanently damage the surface finish.