Professor C. F. Hartt has furnished many facts in regard to the manufacture of pottery by the Brazilian Indians. According to his account the women of Santarem model the bottom of a vessel from a lump of clay in the usual way. Then "a piece of clay is rolled under the hand into a long, rope-like cylinder. This rope is then coiled around the edge of the bottom of the vessel, being flattened sidewise by pinching with the fingers of the left hand, and caused to adhere to the bottom. On this, coil after coil is laid in like manner, each being flattened as before. After a few have been added they are worked into shape with the fingers, which are occasionally moistened in water, and the irregularities produced by the coils are caused to disappear. The vessel is formed by the hand alone and the surface is smoothed down by means of a bit of gourd or a shell, which is from time to time dipped in water. If the vessel be large it is now set away in the shade for a while to dry a little, after which new coils are added as above, no other instrument being used except the hands and the gourd or shell, with which alone the vessel may receive not only an extremely regular form, but also a very smooth surface. * * * The coils are so worked together that from a simple inspection of the vessel it is impossible to determine how it was built up. I should never have suspected that the pottery of Pacoval had been made by coiling, were it not that I found the coils still ununited on the inner surface of the heads of idols."[2]
Prof. Hartt states, also, on the authority of Dr. de Magalhaes, that the pottery of the several tribes of the Araquaya River is always made by coiling, the surface being worked down by the hand and water and the aid of a spoon-like trowel made of bamboo. Humboldt makes a similar statement in regard to the tribes of the Orinoco.
Mr. E. A. Barber[3] relates, on the authority of Captain John Moss, a resident, for a long time, of southwestern Colorado, that the Ute Indians manufacture pottery at the present time, and that they probably follow the methods of the Mokis, from whom they learned the art.
Captain Moss states that "They use marl, which they grind between two rocks to a very fine powder. They then mix this with water and knead it as we would dough. Afterwards they roll it out into a rope-like state about one inch in diameter and several yards in length. They then commence at the bottom of the jar, or whatever vessel they may be making, and coil the clay-rope layer on layer until they have the bottom and three inches of the sides laid up. The tools for smoothing and joining the layers together are a paddle made out of wood and perfectly smooth, and an oval-shaped polished stone." Both of these tools are dipped in the water (salt water is preferred), the stone is held in the left hand and on the inside of the vessel, and the paddle is applied vigorously until the surfaces are smooth. The method thus described by these authors was, probably, almost universally practiced.
Fig. 219.—Ordinary superposition of coils. Section.
I have specimens from a number of the Eastern and Southern States that fracture along the line of junction, showing clearly the width of the fillets and the manner of their attachment. I picked up a small specimen at Avoca, North Carolina, which has broken along the line of junction, giving the section illustrated in Fig. 219. It will be seen that there is no overlapping as in the Pueblo work, the attachment being accomplished by pressure and by drawing both edges of the coil down over the convex edge of the preceding coil. I have similar specimens from the modern Pueblos, from Florida, from Mexico, and from Brazil. It will readily be seen that this method of building differs essentially from that practiced so successfully by the ancient Pueblos.
Origin of the Coil.—This use of the coil is but a refinement of the most simple possible method of construction, that of building by the addition of small masses of clay. A disk or shallow cup can be formed successfully by the fingers alone from a single lump of clay, but to carry the wall upward by pressure or by blows from a paddle would result in a weak, frayed edge. To counteract or prevent this tendency small elongated masses are used, which are laid one upon another along the growing margin. From this, in the most natural manner possible, we arrive at the use of the long, even rope or fillet. The imbrication or overlapping of the coil practiced by the Pueblos may have originated in the effort to secure a more stable union of the parts which had to be welded together by pressure. It would also almost necessarily arise from the attempt to lay the coil upon or within a mold or support. There is a possibility that it may have been suggested by features of construction observed in other arts—the overlapping parts of a roof, of a plate or scale garment, or of a coiled basket. The latter is especially suggestive, since we must generally look for the origin of features of the ceramic art in the features of closely associated arts.
The Coil in Ornamentation.—Ordinarily the coil has not been expected to contribute to the beauty of the vessel, but the Pueblo tribes made it a prominent feature in decoration. The primitive potter as he laid his rude coils noticed that the ridges thus produced served to enhance the appearance of the vessel. He also observed that the series of indentations left on the outer surface of the fillet in pressing it down gave a pleasing effect, and made use of the suggestion. Improving upon the accidents of manufacture, he worked out a variety of decorative devices.
In some cases the coiled ridges are confined to particular parts of the vessel, the other parts having been worked down or originally constructed by plain modeling. Numerous examples have the body quite plain, the collar alone retaining the spiral ridges of the coil. Fig. 251 illustrates a very good example of this peculiarity.