How to Identify Pueblo Pottery
Pueblo pottery is made by American Indian tribes of the Southwestern United States. The Hopi of Arizona and the Zuni, Acoma and Jemez tribes of New Mexico are the best known, but there are an additional 17 pueblos in New Mexico and one in Texas. These tribes are descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans who were making pottery a thousand years ago. Potsherds dating to the 12th century are found throughout the Southwest.
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Instructions
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Keeping Collections Legal
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Leave Ancestral Puebloan potsherds where you find them. Buy Pueblo pottery from legitimate sources or directly from the artist. Federal law protects the trade of archaeological pottery (and potsherds), making it a crime to buy or sell ancestral pottery pieces. Be wary of pots that sellers describe as "unearthed" or "funerary" or for which they are asking an excessively high price.
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The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 requires that pottery labeled for sale as authentic American Indian pottery must be identified and authenticated as such. Pottery labeled as "Hopi pottery" must have been made by a member of the Hopi nation. In addition to pottery, IACA "covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935."
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When in doubt that a particular piece of pottery is American Indian-made, ask for certification. If the seller refuses, do not complete the transaction, and contact the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.
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Pow-wows open to the public allow glimpses into Pueblo life. Purchasing directly from the artist is the best way to ensure that you're buying authentic Pueblo pottery. The major Pueblos of the Southwest invite visitors, and most offer tours that include the chance to visit with artists working in their homes. Contact the Pueblo you want to visit before planning a trip; most close to non-Indians during feast days and celebrations. National parks in the region frequently host Puebloan artists who demonstrate their craft for visitors.
Pueblo Pottery
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Pueblo artists hand coil their baskets; they don't throw them on a pottery wheel. When the basic form is complete, the artists smooth out and polish the coils. After drying, they apply a white wash, paint the vessel and then fire it. Each pot is unique, and artists will sign the finished piece with either their name, tribal number or a clan sign on the bottom of the piece. Done by hand using traditional methods, the cost of Puebloan pottery is worth every penny spent.
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Be wary of pottery that appears to be mass-produced. Avoid shops selling multiples of the same piece. Authentic pueblo pieces are not machine made, and while they may look similar when in a group, closer examination will reveal slight differences. Traditional firing methods employed by the Zuni, for instance, may cause one side of a pot to bake darker than the other. Heat from a sheep-dung fire isn't uniform, as it would be in a kiln.
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Use a guidebook before you head to a gallery to see what different tribes made in the way of pottery. While most are similar, there are differences in how the finished pieces look; some artists add dimensional features like dragonflies.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Clay Pottery image by Hedgehog from Fotolia.com anasazi pottery shards image by freebie123 from Fotolia.com chinese dancers image by Clarence Alford from Fotolia.com Traditional Pottery image by Debbie Rooke from Fotolia.com
