34 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 82 



the vessel wall. The lips show a variety of treatment (fig. 6, ^ to ^) 

 in rounded, squarish, and bevelled forms. Bowls with rounded lips 

 appear to be the rule. 



Pigments. — The paints employed in carrying out the designs on 

 Four-mile polychrome are black and white. The black paint is basically 

 a lead glaze. Where thin it usually has a metallic luster and where 

 thickly applied it is apt to be dull, sometimes vitreous and showing 

 small granular bodies. It bit deeply into the slip, giving the black 

 patterns permanency. The apparently gritty texture of the paint made 

 it more difficult to manipulate than a free-flowing pigment, hence the 

 brushwork does not show the clear-cut edges that it otherwise might 

 have. Brush dips are clearly visible. 



Quantitative analysis ' of this glaze paint show that the main 

 constituents are lead, copper, and usually some manganese. As one 

 would expect in primitive pottery, where the pigments were not 

 mixed by exact formula, the ingredients vary in proportion in the 

 paint on different vessels. This fact possibly accounts for the slight 

 difference in appearance of the paint. It is also likely that the length 

 of time the pottery was subjected to fire and the intensity of the fire 

 affected the final product. Individual paint determinations showed 

 that lead and copper were almost always present in considerable 

 amounts. A composite test of the paint on 12 sherds of Four-mile 

 polychrome indicated a ratio of i : 2-|- of lead to copper and the 

 presence of a negligible amount of manganese. If the lead was in the 

 form of an oxide when used, it would, upon heating, produce a silicate 

 or glaze of light brown to yellow color. This silicate would promote 

 the fusing of the copper and manganese compounds which impart the 

 black color. The common occurrence of blue and green copper carbon- 

 ates in ruins suggests that the copper element was added to the paint 

 mixture in the form of a powdered carbonate. Heating would convert 

 the carbonates to an oxide of copper of black color, which, being less 

 fusible than the lead component, would tend to remain as the gritty 

 particles already mentioned. The small amount of manganese present 

 could have been combined with either the lead or copper ores when 

 mined. Sodium salts which give a glaze similar to that of lead may 

 also be present in the paint. 



The white is a soft chalky paint that can be readily scratched oft' 

 with a knife. As a result the white parts of the designs are often 



' The chemical tests of glaze paints on pottery from Showlow and Pinedale 

 pueblos were kindly made by Mr. F. G. Hawley, Chief Chemist, International 

 Smelter, Miama, Arizona. 



