302 POTTERY OF THE ANCIENT PUEBLOS. 



PAINTED WARE. 



Preliminary remarks. — It is with a peculiar sense ot delight that 

 we enter upon the study of a group of art products so full of new and 

 interesting features. Every object of antiquity has its charm for us, but 

 there is an especial fascination about the works of a people like the 

 "cliff-dwellers," whose long forgotten history takes the form of a ro- 

 mance in our imaginations. In the study of these relics we have the 

 additional charm engendered by a contemplation of new forms of 

 beauty, and we follow the stages of their evolution from the initial steps 

 to the end with ever increasing zest. 



The ceramic art of classic and oriental countries has exerted a pow- 

 erful influence upon existing culture, and is therefore much nearer the 

 heart of the general student than the work of the American races; but it- 

 will not do for science to underrate the value of a study of the latter. 

 Its thorough examination cannot fail to furnish many illustrations of the 

 methods by which arts grow and races advance in culture, and, supple- 

 mented by a study of the art of the modern peoples, it will serve to illus- 

 trate the interesting phenomena attending the contact of widely sepa- 

 rated grades of art. In the introductory pages I have considered many 

 of the technical questions of construction and ornamentation. Before 

 entering upon detailed descriptions of the specimens, I desire to give a 

 brief review of the subject of painted decoration. 



Color of designs. — The colors employed are doubtless gener- 

 ally of a mineral character, although carbonaceous matter derived 

 directly from vegetable sources may have been used to some extent. 

 They comprised white, black, red, and various shades ot brown, and 

 were applied to the surfaces of the vessels by means of brushes not infe- 

 rior in efficiency to those employed by the potters of more enlightened 

 races. 



Execution. — The technical skill of the artist has not generally been 

 of a high order, although examples are found that indicate a trained eye 

 and a skilled hand. The designs are painted upon the show spaces of 

 the vessels, which have been tinted and polished with especial reference 

 to their reception. Large apertured vessels, such as dishes, cups, and 

 bowls, are decorated chiefly upon the inner surface. The design often 

 occupies only a band about the rim, but not infrequently covers the en- 

 tire inner surface. High or incurved rims have in some cases received 

 figures upon the exterior margin. 



Vessels with constricted necks have exterior decorations only. The 

 placing of the designs was governed, to a great extent, by the contour 

 of the vessel, although there was no fixed rule. The grouping of the fig- 

 ures is possibly a little more irregular in the more archaic forms, but in 

 nearly all cases there is a tendency toward arrangement in zones hori- 

 zontally encircling the vessel. This feature is suggestive of the use of 



