Pueblo pottery making: a study at the village of San Ildefonso

by Carl E. Guthe

Native Slip[13]

This is a white, flaky, fairly soft mineral, which is used in solution to give a white outer coating to the bodies of vessels. It is found at some distance from the pueblo, beyond the bad-lands which are visible to the northeast. When the Indians reach the place they pick up small sticks to use as digging tools, but if the deposit happens to be soft enough, the material is merely scooped out with the hand. It is carried home in shawls or bags, and placed in the sun to dry thoroughly; then stored in pottery vessels, usually ollas. It receives no further treatment at this time. When preparing it for use, the Indians simply place it in water as it is, in small lumps. The container is either a small pottery vessel or an enamelled basin. A sufficient amount is mixed with the water to give it the color of milk, but not to thicken it. Occasionally the consistency of thin cream is obtained. Undissolved lumps remain in the solution.

Santo Domingo Slip

This substance, known to the Indians of San Ildefonso either as “Santo Domingo white” or “Cochiti white”, is usually obtained from the Santo Domingo people; it is dug, according to some informants, in the same manner as the native slip. In color and general appearance it is exactly like the latter, but its surface feels more soapy. Santo Domingo slip has largely replaced the native product, because when applied it does not need to be polished with a stone, as does the native slip. It is prepared for use in exactly the same manner as the native slip.

Red Slip

This is a rather loose red earth, which is dug either with the hands or, if conditions demand it, with a small stick. The San Ildefonso Indians obtain it near Santa Fe, but not all of the women know the exact location of the beds. One informant said it was found in Santa Fe Canyon, east of the town, a short distance below the Apache clay beds, at a spot where the convicts from the Penitentiary get material for their bricks. There are three different colors of clay at this place, red, yellow, and white. The red is the clay under discussion. The white is used to color the women’s moccasins.[14]

This slip is handled in much the same manner as the other clays. It is brought home in the usual receptacles—either shawls or bags—and placed in the sun to dry thoroughly. It is then stored, usually in ollas or other earthenware vessels, without further treatment.

There are two ways of preparing red slip for use, according to the kind of vessel for which it is intended. For polished black ware, it is simply mixed to a thin solution with water. For decorated red ware, the process is slightly complicated. At some previous time, equal parts of temper and native slip have been mixed in water and allowed to dry in cakes. When desired for use on a vessel, the cakes are broken and redissolved in water. A sufficient amount is put in to give the water an opaque, milky color, but not to thicken it. To this mixture is added a thin solution of the red slip. There is, apparently, no definite rule in regard to the amount of the red solution to be added. The woman simply puts in enough to give to the slip, when applied to a pot, the proper shade of red. In some cases this mixing of the red and white is done once for all at the beginning of the application of the red slip. In other cases the woman has a bowl of each solution beside her, and from time to time, as she works, adds some of the red to the white. In each bowl lumps of the undissolved substances still remain. Occasionally the slip is stirred to the consistency of cream, but nearly always it has that of water.

Orange-Red Slip

This substance is a yellow clayey earth, in texture somewhat like the two white slips. It occurs in the “Valle” to the west, beyond the first Jemez range, near Ojo Caliente. It is dug with a stick, in the same manner as the native white, and is carried home in shawls and bags. Before being stored it is put out in the sun to dry thoroughly, then placed in ollas and kept until needed. Like the other slips, it is prepared for use by being mixed with water. A saturated solution is made, but the consistency remains that of water.