190 THE .l\h:j{I('.\.\ mcskim jockxal 



clay to whicli riii^s of fresh clay are added as the height is increased. The 

 shaping is done l)y the fingers, which nuist he dipped frequently in water 

 during the process. The waifs of tiie \)(>\> are made thin and even by 

 gourd scrapers. After the pots are dry their outer surfaces are polished 

 with smooth stones, then a sizing of fine clay is added and the process of 

 polishing repeated. After tliis the designs are painted on with a hnish 

 made from a yucca leaf. The kiln is eonstructecl in the open air. A fire 

 is laid and over it the pots arc piled in inverted positions, the rims resting 

 on stones or on lumj)s of clay. Moi-c fuel, consisting of slabs of dry 

 manure, is then arranged around the jars, great care being taken to see 

 that none of the fuel actually touches tlic sifles of the vessels. 'I'he draft 

 must be kept open or the ware will be blackened. .\11 ])aiiitcd ])ottery and 

 all polished red i)()ttery is burned in an open draft fire. In the case of the 

 polished black potter\' however, after the open fire has l)een started, it is 

 smothered by several shovelfuls of fine dust-like manure that drives in the 

 smoke and blackens the red wash or sizing. It is harfl to realize that the 

 sole difference between the brilliant red ware and the gleaming black is 

 merely a trick in burning. 



At San lldefonso the finest pottery lias designs in black on a whitish 

 background. The black paint is made by boiling down the leaves and 

 stems of the wako weed or Rocky Mountain bee balm. This makes a dark 

 brown syrup which becomes a very smooth jet black after burning. Red 

 ochre is commonly used for red paint, while orange paint appears \'ery 

 rarely on San lldefonso pottery. 



Most of the designs on Pueblo pottery seem quite unintelligible to tis, 

 yet to the makers they signify definite and important things. The Pueblo 

 Indians of San lldefonso, and of the Southwest in general, have a keen 

 appreciation of nature which shows in every feature of their decorative art. 

 Living an agricultural life in a .semi-arid environment, rain is to them the 

 great necessity of existence. Clouds, falling rain, fiashing lightning, 

 brimming rivers and flooded fields — these arc the aspects of nature that 

 please them most. The formal figures in which they embody their con- 

 ceptions of propitious nature are intended to appeal to the imagination 

 and to please the eye. These figiu'cs are manipulated as motives of pure 

 design without losing a bit of their realistic intention. There is also a 

 religious significance in many of the figures j)aintcd on the pottery. Primi- 

 tive people very often represent by means of drawings or dramas what they 

 consider to be desirable things so that they will be more certain to occur. 

 Even the small geometric motives used in narrow bands have a realistic 

 interpretation, altliough there is usually a descriptive term as well, while 

 the more elaborate designs often disclose strikingly realistic conceptions 

 notwithstanding the formal presentation. 



