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

by Carl E. Guthe

Fig. 6. Diagramatic sections of a bowl on the mould.

a. Base made and first roll applied to inner side of rim. b. First roll flattened and welded on. c. Second roll applied. d. Second roll flattened and welded on.

from the exterior (see [fig. 6], b, d), thus producing a broad holding surface and minimizing the risk of the vessel’s cracking along the junction-plane. In other words, the junction-line between any two rolls on the outside wall of the vessel is considerably higher than the corresponding line on the inside. The flattened rolls, in all but cooking-pots, are from an inch and a half to two inches wide, but because of the overlapping just described the distance between the junction-lines is considerably less (see [pl. 13], b, and pl. 15, a).

During the process of flattening the roll, some potters obliterate the junction-line on the exterior by rubbing it with the first and second finger of the right hand, and by the addition of small pellets of paste in the more conspicuous indentations. Others consider it unnecessary to obliterate this line during the building of the vessel, in spite of the fact that the roll may break away because of not being firmly welded. Certain women smooth the temporary rim after flattening each roll, others do not. When the flattening has been finished, the puki has made a second complete revolution, and the junction of the two ends of the roll is again directly in front of the potter; but if a few additional touches are required she may again shift the puki in one direction or another. No potter pays any attention whatever to the location of the junction points of the ends of the rolls; in successive rolls, therefore, they may lie directly above one another, or they may be distributed about the circumference of the vessel ([pl. 13], b). When one roll has been completely welded on, flattened out, and incorporated into the vessel, another roll is formed, and is applied in exactly the same manner. Thus the building proceeds to the height at which the shaping is begun. The steps so far enumerated are the same for both bowls and ollas. The further treatment of the vessel varies slightly, according to the shape desired.

Stevenson, describing the moulding of vessels at Zuñi, in 1879, wrote: “When the clayey dough is ready to be used, a sufficient quantity is rolled into a ball. The dough, if worked by a careful artist, is first tested as to its fitness for molding by putting a piece of the paste to the tongue, the sensitiveness of which is such as to detect any gritty substance or particles, when the fingers fail to do so. The ball is hollowed out with the fingers into the shape of a bowl (see [pl. 29], a), this form constituting the foundation for all varieties of earthenware, and assumes the desired form by the addition of strips of clay; all traces of the addition of each strip are removed before another is added,[28] by the use of a small trowel fashioned from a piece of gourd or fragment of pottery, the only tool employed in the manufacture of pottery. The bottoms of old water jars and bowls form stands for the articles while being worked by the potter” (see [pl. 29]).[29]

Mrs. Stevenson, writing later, also of the Zuñis, said: “In beginning the work a sufficient quantity is first made into a ball and then hollowed out with the fingers until is assumes a conventional bowl shape, which serves as the foundation to be afterward built up and elaborated into any desired shape. The vessel is then formed by the successive additions of strips of the paste long enough to encircle the bowl, each layer being pressed on the brim with the fingers and accurately fitted, the trowel being then skillfully used to finish the joining and to remove all traces of the original separation of the strips. Most of the work of remodelling the vessel into its final shape is done on the inside with a trowel, this implement being used on the outside chiefly to smooth the surface. The clay, if it has been properly worked, possesses sufficient tenacity and plasticity to admit of being pressed and scraped without cracking.”[30]

The following quotation is of interest as showing how closely modern studio-practice, undoubtedly evolved experimentally, resembles Pueblo Indian methods: “The clay for building should be rather soft as it is apt to dry quickly on handling. A plaster bat (mould) should be made. It is first necessary to roll out the clay into cords which should be a little thicker than the proposed walls are to be. These cords should be as uniform as possible and should be rolled quickly to avoid undue hardening. It is best to roll them as required. A roll of clay is taken, one end laid in the center of the bat and the rest is coiled around it in a spiral line. When the disc so formed has reached the proper size, the coils are gently rubbed over with the fingers until they have thoroughly united and the lines of the spiral have disappeared. The clay disc may now be turned over and the rubbing continued on the other side. The circle is cut true and a new coil is laid on the outer edge, thus making a shallow circular tray. In raising the walls it is best to pinch off the roll of clay when one circle has been completed, and the new roll should be begun at another point so that all the joints will not be at the same place. This plan is better than coiling a long roll in a spiral, for in this case one side of the piece will be higher than the other.

“After three rolls have been laid in position, the wall, both inside and out, should be worked like the bottom so that the rolls will disappear and the clay be welded uniformly together. This should be done without water or with as little as possible. The use of water is very tempting. It makes the clay so smooth and seems to help, but it will inevitably make the work sloppy and will tend to soften the walls.

“After three or four rolls have been worked in, the piece should be laid aside for some hours to stiffen. If this be not done the weight of the second building will cause the work to sag and fall out of shape. For this reason it is well to have two or three pieces in hand at once so that there need be no waiting. When the cylinder is of sufficient height it should be allowed to become quite stiff and then the irregularities should be corrected with a little soft clay which is worked into the joints. The whole surface may now be gone over with tools and brought to the required finish.”[31]