manufacture of large red ollas: a row of these may be seen drying before
the house.]
because of the amount of paste in it, has a tendency to contract more
than the bottom of the side. The next greatest strain is at the bottom
of the side, where the paste must adjust itself to the contraction in
the base as well as to that in the body of the vessel. The body and lip
have the least strain, for the contraction may be compensated for by a
slight settling of the paste. It is in the base, therefore, that cracks
usually occur, and then near the centre of it, since that is the point
of greatest strain. The size and quantity of the cracks are an
indication of the amount of temper still needed to make the paste of
just the right consistency. If there are many small cracks, or a single
serious one, the piece may be discarded entirely, to be broken up later,
and re-used in moulding. If a crack is not serious, it is filled as
follows. With a small sliver of wood, or the end of a case-knife, the
paste on the edge of the crack is forced down into it, first on the
interior and then on the exterior; little pellets of paste are then
added and pressed into the crack until it is filled. Final smoothing
with the finger or the kajepe completes the obliteration.
Small vertical cracks near the base of the body probably also indicate
faulty mixture of the paste. The potters, however, say that these fine
cracks are caused by a vessel’s drying too quickly in the sun, and
insist that if it had been allowed to dry slowly in the house, they
would not have appeared. Such cracks are too fine and too numerous to
warrant the careful filling of each one; so accordingly the surface is
merely dampened, some soft paste is added and rubbed in with the fingers
or the kajepe.
Cracks running downward from the rim are exceedingly rare. The women of
San Ildefonso make no attempt to repair them, but occasionally cut down
the vessel to a smaller size. In the single instance noted[37] the crack
was first traced downward from the rim until its end was located upon
the neck, then the upper part of the neck was cut off below the end of
the crack. It was thus possible to use the base of the olla as a large
bowl. A line parallel with the rim was marked about the circumference of
the neck with a lead-pencil. This line was incised with a penknife, and
gone over again in order to deepen it. A second line was incised around
the neck about three-sixteenths of an inch nearer the rim. Then the
paste between these two lines was dug out with great care, forming a
V-shaped groove (pl. 20, a). This groove was cut through about one-half
the thickness of the wall all the way around the neck. Then at one point
the wall was pierced, and, from there around, the groove was deepened by
long and short strokes of a knife pulled toward the body until the wall
had been cut through for about three-fifths of the circumference. The
remainder broke away easily. The raw surface of the new rim was then
softened by the application of water and smoothed with the fingers. The
potter said this was the usual method of treating a rim crack.
SCRAPING
The purpose of this process is twofold, to improve the surface of the
vessel by removing the marks left by the kajepe and the puki, and to
thin the sides, thus reducing the weight of the finished piece. It is
usually begun the day following the completion of the moulding and
sun-drying, unless other duties, such as planting, harvesting, and the
like, force a postponement. Large vessels such as ollas are allowed to
dry nearly forty-eight hours before they are scraped. At San Ildefonso
vessels are made in quantities ranging from a dozen to fifty pieces. The
moulding and drying of the entire group, a process which may extend over
a period of several days, is entirely finished before the scraping is
begun.
There are three steps in the scraping: the wetting, the actual scraping,
and the smoothing of the surface. The implements employed are a wet
cloth and a scraper. The latter is either the top of a baking-powder
can, or a kitchen case-knife. The can-top seems to be the more popular
because it may be used on nearly any type of curve on the vessel. The
informants said that their people formerly used potsherds, stones, or
broken animal-bones as scrapers, in fact anything that had a suitable
edge; the potsherds were sharpened and straightened by rubbing them on
coarse sandstone.
When the vessel is brought in from drying, it is easily lifted from the
puki, since the layer of ashes or temper prevents sticking. A small olla
or bowl is held upon the left knee, with the mouth tilted to the left
and away from the body. A bowl is held with the left hand, the fingers
on the interior, the thumb on the exterior of the lip. The exterior
surface of the vessel is then softened by wiping it with a wet rag. This
step is omitted by some potters always, by others only when the vessel
needs a small amount of scraping. The scraping itself is begun while the
surface is still damp. The scraper first touches the vessel near the
shoulder. The work then continues toward the base by means of short,
quick strokes taken toward the body. As the work advances the upper part
of the bowl is turned away from the body, that is, the vessel turns
counterclockwise. When the ridges marking the former position of the
edge of the puki are being destroyed, care is taken to keep the curve of
the side uniform from the base to the shoulder. If the scraping
discloses an impurity, such as a stone fragment in the paste, it is
removed; the resulting irregularity is filled with a pinch of soft
paste, and smoothed over. The strokes of the scraper are usually
approximately parallel to the rim of the vessel. The upper part is
scraped as far as the surface remains convex. In bowls the scraping is
done to the very rim. In both large and small ollas with flaring lip,
the scraping continues only to the base of the flare. The interiors of
vessels, even of wide-mouthed bowls, are never scraped. When a bowl
requires little scraping to make the surface uniform, it may be finished
in from three to five minutes. Those which are too
[Illustration: PLATE 19
a. Scraping an olla after sun-drying; the implement used is an ordinary
kitchen case-knife.
b. Scraping; the dark part of the olla has just been moistened to
soften the clay.]
heavy, and therefore need thinning, take considerably longer. It may
even be necessary to moisten the surface a second time. The potters
judge the proper thickness of the bowls by weighing them in the two
hands with the elbows unsupported.
Large ollas, while being scraped, are held in the lap, with the mouth
inclined to the left and away from the body. The left hand supporting
the olla is placed palm down upon the neck (pl. 19, b). Because of the
extent of surface to be gone over only that part of the olla about to be
scraped is moistened with the cloth. When a case-knife is used instead
of a can-top, it is held either at right angles to the surface worked or
at an angle of about sixty degrees with the surface, the upper edge of
the knife tilted away from the body (pl. 19, a). In all vessels, bowls
as well as ollas, the angle with the horizontal made by the mouth varies
considerably, according to the part of the vessel being scraped. After
the scraping proper is completed, one potter sometimes rubs the surface,
including the rim and lip, with a little steel wool, which noticeably
improves the smoothness. The final step is to go over the entire surface
carefully with the palm of the right hand in search of irregularities or
small uneven spots.
When the scraper is laid aside for the last time, the surface of the
vessel is again softened with a wet cloth. By means of vigorous rubbing
the thin film of moist surface-paste is redistributed over the entire
exterior of the vessel, filling the small scratches made by the scraper,
and softening the edges of the larger ones. If the vessel is a bowl or a
large olla, its position is then changed so that its mouth is tilted to
the right and towards the body, whereupon the interior is treated with a
wet cloth. The finishing touches consist in smoothing, either with a wet
cloth or the ball of the finger, small areas of the surface which are
not quite to the potter’s satisfaction. The use of the wet cloth gives a
uniform smooth texture which is a distinct improvement over the scraped
surface. The paste resumes its dry color in three to five minutes after
the wetting. This process actually amounts to the same thing as putting
a thin slip of paste upon the vessel, but the potters do not think of it
in that light. It is said that some women entirely omit this final
smoothing step. Formerly a wet cloth was not used; the fingers alone, a
piece of sandstone, or a corncob served, according to the informants, to
smooth the surface after scraping. As a matter of fact, however, cloth
was used in old times for smoothing pottery, as clay-smeared rags are
occasionally discovered in the rubbish of ancient cliff houses. Ground
potsherds, on the other hand, were more often used than gourd-rind
kajepes, the latter being very rare even in the dry deposits found in
caves. At Pecos well-worn fragments of the spongy interior parts of
large animal bones have been found which may well have been employed for
smoothing.
The time element in scraping is a variable quantity. Table VI on the
following page is the record of one potter. A, B, and C were large
ollas; D, E, and F were small globular ollas six inches in diameter and
five inches high; G was a shallow, wide-mouthed bowl.
TABLE VI
A B C D E F G
_Min._ _Sec._
Wet cloth applied 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00 00.00
Scraping begun 00.30 01.00 00.30
Wet cloth applied again 02.30 08.30
Wet cloth applied again 04.00 11.00
Steel wool rub begun 05.30 16.30
Scraping done, exterior
smoothing begun 08.00 18.30 18.00 08.30 03.00 05.00 08.00
Interior smoothing begun 14.30 26.00 11.00 05.30 07.30 11.00
Finishing begun 17.00
Set aside 17.30 31.30 35.00 13.00 08.30 08.30 15.30
The treatment of the vessels after scraping varies considerably among
different potters. One places the scraped vessels in the sun for a
period of not less than three days in order to test them for cracks;
another begins the next step in the work, that of slipping, almost at
once, sometimes the same day; a third after scraping ollas replaces them
in the sun for a day or so, in order to allow them to “get warm” (that
is, dry thoroughly),[38] before the slipping and polishing are begun.
SLIPPING AND POLISHING
Up to this point all vessels are made in the same general manner. In the
succeeding stages the treatment differs according to the type of
decoration which is eventually to be applied. The making of the vessel
has been completed, and the finishing is now begun. Just as the making
is divided into three general processes--moulding, sun-drying, and
scraping, so the finishing is similarly divided into slipping, painting,
and firing.
Slipping is the application of a very thin layer of clay to the surface
or surfaces of the vessel to produce a smooth texture, uniform in color,
which gives the pottery a pleasing appearance; it also serves as a
background upon which designs may be painted. The slip further acts as a
sizing. San Ildefonso slip is a saturated solution of a colored clay in
water; it is very little thicker than water, and is applied by means of
a small piece of cloth, used in much the same way in which a painter
would handle a brush an inch and a half or two inches wide. It is said
that formerly a small piece of skin was used instead of a cloth mop. The
treatment after application depends upon the slip used; some slips are
merely wiped vigorously with a cloth, others must be polished with
smooth, fine-grained stones.
At San Ildefonso the potters use slips of four different colors--white
(of two varieties), orange-red, red, and dark-red. The red and dark-red
slips and one variety of the white must be polished; the other white and
the orange-red do not need it. The white slips are principally used as
backgrounds in polychrome ware (see pl. 6), the red for undecorated red
ware and polished black ware (see pl. 8), and the dark-red for decorated
red ware (see pl. 7, a, b). The orange-red slip is the only one of the
four which is not used on the body of vessels, it being confined to the
bases of ollas and of some bowls. The white and the orange-red are used
also in the elements of designs.[39]
WHITE SLIP
The native white slip (see p. 23) is applied and polished in the same
manner as the red slip (see p. 23). It has been very largely supplanted
by the Santo Domingo white slip, which does not require polishing.
The Santo Domingo white slip (see p. 23) is a soapy clay which the San
Ildefonso potters obtain from the Indians of Santo Domingo and Cochiti.
It is mixed with water in enamelled pans and basins or in china dishes,
although formerly pottery vessels were used to hold it. Although
undissolved lumps of the clay remain in the bottom of the vessel
containing the solution, the latter is not appreciably thicker than
water. The mop with which it is applied is a folded cloth, about two
inches wide and three, or three and a half, inches long. This is held at
one end, between the thumb and the first two fingers of the right hand,
the other end of the cloth acting as a two-inch wide paint-brush, which
is manipulated with an easy, backward-forward stroking motion, parallel
to the rim.[40]
Before the slip is applied, the hand is rubbed over the surface in order
to remove any dust or powder which may remain after the scraping. Some
vessels, while being slipped, are held with the mouth vertical and to
the left, supported by the bent fingers of the left hand against the
interior of the rim. Others are held upright, resting upon the palm of
the left hand (pl. 20, b). In both cases the vessels are revolved
counterclockwise as the slip is applied. In the container the slip is
creamy white, but when first laid on it turns a muddy yellowish-white,
because the clay below darkens as it absorbs the moisture. Within two or
three minutes the under clay dries, and the surface becomes dead white.
Five or six coats are applied, the vessel being allowed to become
completely dry after each one. One potter rubbed the surface vigorously
with a dry cloth after each application and before the slip had
thoroughly dried. Another rubbed the vessel with a cloth only after all
the coats had been put on, but before the last had dried. Usually the
work is done in the sun, at the place where the pieces have been drying,
but occasionally it is carried on in the house, and between coatings the
vessels are placed in an oven heated by a slow fire. The length of time,
five or more minutes, during which the vessel remains in the oven is
determined by testing the warmth of its surface. When the work has been
completed, the very faint marks of the mop are visible.
Pieces of pottery of various shapes are slipped on different surfaces.
Small ollas and constricted-mouthed bowls are coated with white only on
the upper two-thirds or three-quarters of the exterior. No particular
care is taken to keep the lower edge of the slip regular. Of smaller
vessels the entire exterior, including the base, is usually covered.
Open-mouthed bowls are coated with white both in the interior and the
upper part of the exterior. Shallow open-mouthed bowls may be coated
only on the interior. The exterior surfaces not treated with white slip
are later coated with orange-red slip (see below).
The actual length of time that each vessel is in the hands of the potter
while it is being slipped is very short. It requires one-quarter to
one-half a minute to apply a coat of slip to a constricted-mouthed bowl
six to eight inches in diameter. The six coats could be applied in less
than three minutes. Another half minute is needed for the rubbing with
the cloth at the end. Four minutes in all is a generous estimate. A coat
of slip is applied to the entire group of vessels at one time (pl. 20,
b). Less than fifteen minutes are required to give a single coat of slip
to a group of from twenty to thirty pieces. After this step has been
completed, the vessels are placed in the sun for an hour or more before
the painting of the design is begun, the length of time depending upon
attendant circumstances.
[Illustration: PLATE 20
a
Cutting the top from an olla which had cracked slightly at the rim
during the final sun-drying. The raw edge was afterwards worked down to
form a new rim, and the vessel was successfully fired.
b
Applying white slip with a cloth mop. The enamelled pan containing the
prepared slip is on the bench at the potter’s side. A number of vessels
are slipped at one time.]
ORANGE-RED SLIP
This slip is applied only to the bases of vessels (ollas and certain
bowls) and to the interior of the lips of ollas. Before burning it is
mustard-yellow in color, but after firing it becomes orange-red. A cloth
mop is used for application in the same manner as with the white slip;
one coat only is applied to each surface.
As a rule the vessel being slipped is held in the lap, the mouth
vertical and turned to the left (pl. 21, a). The left hand is placed in
the interior to support it and keep it turning counterclockwise, that
is, the upper part is turned away from the body, as the strokes are
taken towards the body. The formation of the junction-line between this
base-slip and the body-slip is very carefully handled. No attention is
paid to the lower edge of the body-slip, except to notice its general
location, for the base-slip covers it and itself produces the edge. This
upper line, made by long, careful, slow, trailing strokes of the mop, is
drawn entirely free-hand, yet the potters succeed surprisingly well in
keeping it always the same distance from the centre of the base. Three
or four strokes are more than sufficient to encircle the vessel (pl. 21,
a). It is often possible in the finished piece to trace the lower edge
of the body-slip, under the orange-red coating. After the junction line
has been drawn, the rest of the base is covered with shorter
forward-backward strokes. The application of the orange-red slip to the
interior of the lips of ollas is done with the same careful, slow
technique used in forming the junction-line near the base of the body;
during the process the vessel is held on the palm of the hand right-side
up. The exterior of shallow bowls which receive no white slip is
completely coated with the orange-red, the bowl being inverted over the
left hand during the application.
The orange-red slip may be put on either before or after the painting of
the design; if before, the painting may be begun at once; if after, the
application may be delayed until within an hour or two of burning. If
the vessels are set aside for a while at this stage, they are covered
with a cloth to keep the dust and flies away. The time element is
practically the same as in the case of the white slip.
RED SLIP
The red slip, as was said above, serves to cover the surfaces of
undecorated red-ware. It is always polished with the rubbing-stone after
application. When given a certain special firing (see p. 74) it turns a
lustrous black and so produces polished black ware (pl. 8, b). This slip
is a saturated solution in water of the red clay just as it was obtained
from the claypits (see p. 24). Although undissolved lumps remain at the
bottom of the solution, the latter is no thicker than water. The
containers are either open-mouthed pottery bowls or china dishes. The
slip is applied as usual with a small folded rag. While it is being put
on, the vessel may be hung from the fingers of the left hand with the
mouth vertical, or held in the usual way upon the palm of the left hand,
its position depending upon whether or not the base is to be slipped.
The surface is covered two or three times with the cloth mop, in a
rather haphazard manner, so that certain portions where the strokes
overlap receive as many as four coats. The potter herself is uncertain
regarding the number of coats the surface has received, as they are
applied one immediately after the other, with no wait between. The
mopping is stopped when the surface seems uniformly covered with just
the right shade--a rather bright red. San Ildefonso potters usually
cover with this slip the entire exterior of small ollas and bowls,
including the base.[41] In some cases shallow open-mouthed bowls are
slipped only on the interior.
Before the slip dries, the rubbing with the polishing-stone is begun.
The stone is held between the thumb and first two fingers of the right
hand. The entire surface is gone over several times with a
backward-forward motion in strokes about three or four inches long.[42]
Each stroke is made with the entire forearm, there being no noticeable
play in either the wrist or the fingers. This is a rather fatiguing and
exacting process, for to obtain the best results all parts of the
surface must receive equal attention: a definite system, however, has
been developed by means of which the entire surface is gone over.
In polishing the exterior of a small olla or of a bowl, the vessel is
first placed upon the lap in an inverted position, tilted slightly to
the right. It is held at the rim by the left hand, which rests upon the
left thigh. The polishing is begun on the right-hand side of the base
near the body, and proceeds diagonally across the base to the far
left-hand side. The vessel is then tipped up with the mouth to the left
and the rim nearly vertical. The polishing is begun at the shoulder and
continued down to within a very short distance of the centre of the base
(pl. 21, b). At this stage some potters polish from the base to the
shoulder. As the work continues, the upper part of the bowl is turned
counterclockwise away from the body. Usually the stroke is parallel to
the rim, but occasionally a diagonal motion develops. The strokes across
the bottom are then made at right angles to the previous series. A
constricted-mouthed bowl is then turned so that the mouth, still
vertical, is to the right, and the section from the lip to the shoulder
is polished; the bowl is now turned clockwise, that is, the top still
turns away from the body. Small ollas may be held either in this
position or with the mouth tilted at an angle of about forty-five
degrees to the left and away from the body, in which case the polishing
is done from the shoulder to the lip (see pl. 30, b, which shows a Zuñi
potter using the polishing stone).
After the surface has been completely covered in this manner once, and
none too carefully, the rim is coated with the slip, applied by the
forefinger of the right hand, and gone over with the stone. The vessel
is then wiped with a cloth upon
[Illustration: PLATE 21
a. Applying orange-red slip with a cloth mop; the beginning of the
stroke may be seen just above the lap of the potter. b. Polishing a bowl
with a small stone after red slip has been applied. The marks of the
stone are visible at first, but quickly disappear as the slip dries. c.
Women working with the polishing stone. Note the light line about the
shoulder of the large olla, where a space is always temporarily left
unpolished.]
which a little lard has been rubbed. The lard may be kept near the
potter in any convenient receptacle, like a sauce-dish or the bowl of a
spoon. A clean cloth is then immediately used to distribute the lard
evenly upon the surface, and to remove any surplus. Some potters do not
use this second cloth at all; others apply the lard to the vessels with
their fingers, wiping it immediately afterwards with a cloth. In some
cases, the application of the lard is withheld until the polishing is
entirely completed.