The polishing is then continued in exactly the manner just described. The surface is covered more carefully and more slowly, the areas worked upon often overlapping considerably. A cloth, sometimes a part of the potter’s apron, is now between the left hand and the vessel in order to protect the smooth surface. A considerable pressure is exerted. Some women use a short, very quick stroke; others a somewhat longer, slower stroke, hence taking more time for the work. In this way the surface is covered several times. Finally the routine treatment is dropped, and finishing touches are given by polishing small areas here and there which do not show the required amount of lustre. The strokes used at the end are usually slightly longer than the previous ones. Finally, after the stone has been laid aside, the surface is wiped once with a clean cloth before the vessel is set aside; it is usually placed upon a mat or cloth in order that the base may not be scratched by contact with the earthen floor. When the polishing of several vessels has been completed, they are gathered in a corner of a room on a mat or rug, and covered with a cloth to keep the flies and dust away, for it is said that fly-specks leave a black mark upon the burned vessel.
In the case of large ollas one half of the vessel is doubtless coated with slip and polished before the other half is slipped. This is the process employed in polishing large ollas slipped with dark-red (see p. 63). No opportunity presented itself to see a large polished olla being made.
In polishing the interior of a shallow bowl, the vessel is held in its normal position, tilted slightly to the right, and resting upon the right knee and the palm of the left hand, which in turn, rests upon the left knee. The polishing is done from the lip to the centre of the vessel. As the work advances, the bowl is turned counterclockwise.
The degree of polish obtained by different potters varies considerably, and yet in even the very finest examples of polishing the marks left by the stone may be faintly seen in certain lights in the form of exceedingly low ridges, generally running roughly parallel to the rim and too low to be felt with the fingers. The surface has a lustre almost equal to that of burnished metal. In pieces which are not as well polished, the ridges are higher and may be felt with the fingers; indeed they are often prominent enough to make the lustre uneven. Maria Martinez, who does the best polishing, is also the swiftest worker in the village. From the moment the vessel is picked up to apply the slip until the completion of the polishing, it is not laid down for an instant. Her strokes are quicker than those of the other potters; she covers the surface in much less time and therefore polishes a given area more often before the slip dries. Continued polishing tires the wrist and hand very quickly and is apt to produce cramps. Other potters are inclined to rest for a few minutes from time to time, especially after the application of the slip and again after the lard has been put on. One woman complained of the humid weather, because it did not allow the slip to dry quickly enough. The potters themselves say that streaky polish is due to lack of persistence on the part of the polisher. Maria attributes her success to the fact that she uses a faster stroke and puts on a little more lard than the others. Large vessels usually have a poorer polish than small ones. The secret of good polishing seems to lie in the ability of the potter to go over her work as many times as possible after the slip has been applied and before it becomes too dry.
The time during which the vessel being polished is actually in the hands of the potter is given in Table VII. The first column (A) represents a constricted-mouthed bowl, about eight inches in diameter at the shoulder and four inches high, which was polished by Maria. In one hour and fifteen minutes elapsed time three such bowls were done, an average of twenty-five minutes for each. The second column (B) represents the polishing by another potter of the interior of a shallow wide-mouthed bowl. The actual time from the moment the bowl was picked up for the application of the slip until the polishing was done was forty-one minutes. A rest of one minute was taken after the slip had been applied, another of thirteen minutes after the application of the lard, in order to let the bowl “dry”, and a third of one minute when the final polishing was about half done. The interior of this bowl was a very fine example of polishing.
TABLE VII
| Min. Sec. | Min. Sec. | |
| First application of the slip | 00.00 | 00.00 |
| First polishing begun | 02.50 | 03.00 |
| Slipping of rim begun | 04.45 | |
| Polishing of rim begun | 05.30 | |
| Application of lard begun | 06.05 | 10.00 |
| Wiping with dry cloth begun | 06.40 | |
| Final polishing begun | 07.05 | 11.00 |
| Polishing finished | 24.05 | 26.00 |
Dark-red Slip
The dark-red slip is a mixture of red slip, native white slip, and tempering material. It is applied to vessels which are later to receive a black design (see [pl. 7], a, b). It is mopped on with a cloth in exactly the same manner as the red, and is also polished with a stone but never acquires as high a lustre as does the red. There seems to be a tendency for the first coat of this slip to dry more readily than the first coat of the red slip.
While applying the slip to small ollas about six inches in diameter, the vessel is held by the rim with the left hand. Either the entire exterior may be slipped, or the base may remain uncoated, to be covered later with the orange-red slip. The slip is first applied to the rim, the forefinger being used instead of a mop. During this process the vessel is right-side up either in the lap or on the floor. The body is then slipped with the cloth mop, and the polishing done in two parts, with the shoulder as the dividing line. In polishing the lower part the strokes begin at the base, or at the lower edge of the slip in case the base has not been coated, and proceed upward to the shoulder. The direction of the strokes is practically parallel to the rim. The upper part is polished from the shoulder to the lip. On the base, if it has been slipped, the strokes are first made in one direction, then at right angles to that direction. From time to time, as the polishing proceeds, the vessels are set aside in order to allow the slip to dry somewhat. They may even be placed in the sun or near a fire on the hearth. The potters explain that if the work is completed while the slipped surface is very damp, the resulting polish will not be as high as when the slip is just drying. Apparently, the work done just before the surface becomes dry plays an important part in securing a high lustre. One of the potters working on this ware applied a little lard to the surface after the polishing had been completed. Another potter used no lard whatever for this class of ware.[43] When the polishing has been completed the vessel is placed in the sun or near a fire to dry thoroughly before it is put away to await decoration. While the olla is drying it is covered with a cloth to protect it from flies.