There are basically two types of Native American pottery:
inexpensive and expensive. Unfortunately, it is not always easy
to tell the difference. Looking at the price is not the best way
to tell the difference because there are people that try to
sell "cheap" pottery as "expensive". Whoops!
Let's examine the two different types of Indian pottery and
see what the differences are. The first type of pottery, and
the least expensive, is called slip cast, or ceramic,pottery.
The second, and usually more expensive, is called hand built
or handmade.
Slip cast pottery is made in a ceramics store by a person
making a lot of pots at one time. A solution of commercial
ceramic clay is mixed with water forming a "slip". This is
sort of similar to plaster of Paris, which most of us are
familiar with. The slip is then poured in a mold, which can
be nearly any size. When the slip is sufficiently set up the
mold is removed and the still wet pot is set aside to dry.
Sometimes they are put in plastic bags so they won't dry out
too fast. Because of the mold and the relatively thin
consistency of the the "slip", the pot is very smooth and
has a very regular shape. If you feel the inside of the pot,
it is smooth, and the walls are very thin. At this point the
pot is picked up by an Indian and taken home to be painted,
etched or whatever. The advantage to the artist of using this
type of pot is a great time savings. Instead of laboriously
building pots by hand the artist can pick up ten pots at a
time, and go directly to work on them.
Once the pot has been taken home, it can be painted, or etched.
Much of the painting and etching is beautiful and requires a
great deal of talent to do. Usually these pots are signed
with initials, not names. There are exceptions, but the
usual choice is to use initials. If you ask an artist who
hand builds pots why this is, they will usually tell you it
is because the artist doesn't want anyone to know they are
making slip cast pots. The final step is to return the pot to
the ceramic studio to have it, or them, fired. An electric or
gas kiln is used. This is the last step.
So, the final product is a pot with a very symmetrical shape,
very thin walls with a very smooth finish both inside and out.
The artwork on the pot may indeed be beautiful. The advantage
to the artist is that they can crank out a lot of these in a
relatively short period of time. The advantage to the consumer
is that these pots are fairly inexpensive. A six inch Navajo
pot may sell from sixty to one hundred-twenty dollars,
depending on the type of work done on the pot.
The hand built pot is made in a different way. The clay is
collected from the artist's favorite site. Sometimes the artist
will pay someone to go get the clay for them, but most often
the artist will go collect the clay. Once the clay is home, it
must be sifted,cleaned, moistened, and usually a small amount
of a fine sand will be added to the clay. This makes the clay
less likely to break when it is fired. The clay is kneaded for
quite some time to insure a uniform consistency, then set aside
to dry.
Once the clay has reached the desired consistency the artist
will actually make the pot by hand. The clay is shaped and
worked using various tools the artist likes. Everyone seems to
have their favorite tools at this point. Some artists use
spoons, gourds, putty knives, pocket knives, or a zillion
other things. The pot is smoothed as much as possible on the
outside and the inside. A really good hand built pot will have
a relatively smooth inside. If, as in the case of Santa Clara
pottery, any carving is to be done on the pot, it is usually
done at this time.
The pot is then set aside to dry. This can take several days,
or even a week if the humidity is high. Once dry, the pot can
be sanded to smooth the outside. Then the pot is stone polished.
In this step an actual rock is used to smooth the outside of
the pot. Some of the polishing stones are passed from generation
to generation. Stone polishing can take anywhere from an hour
to a full day, depending on the size of the pot. The pot is
then set aside to completely dry.
Once dry the pot can be painted with a slip. This is similar to
the slip used to make a "slip cast" or ceramic pot, but much
thinner. Slips used to paint pots are usually made with a
different type of clay than the body of the pot, and some
sort of pigment is added, either a plant pigment, or a
mineral pigment. Any mixture of clay and water and/or pigment
is called a slip. The slips are prepared ahead of time and
can be stored.
The pot on the left
has just been shaped
and is still wet. The
pot in the middle has
been stone polished
and is ready for the
slip. The pot on the
right has been fired
and is finished.
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Pot2:
A paint stone with
a slip in it.
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Slips are sometimes mixed in a stone resembling a "metąte"
(a stone used to grind corn). Again, these paint stones can
be handed down from generation to generation. Sometimes
plants are added to the slip to get the desired color. To get
different colors on the pot, different types of slips are used.
Also, once a slip is fired, it may change color. So the color
you see on an unfired pot may be drastically different from
the color on the finished pot. Artists use anything from
artist's paintbrushes to yucca fibers to paint on the slip.
This can be an exacting, time consuming process. Once the pot
has been painted with the slip, and is dry, it is time for the
firing.
Notice all the work that has gone into the pot up to this point.
Now comes the most dangerous part: firing. There are two
different types of firing: kiln firing and actual firing
in a real fire on the ground. Kiln firing tends to be safer
and more convenient. Pots that are kiln dried are not usually
as expensive as ground fired pots. Most, but not all, Acoma,
Zia and Jemez pots are kiln fired. In these cases, there is no
advantage to using a fire on the ground, and the results are
more uniform.
Some potters prefer the more traditional ground firing out of
personal belief, or because this type of firing is the only way
to get the desired result. In the case of black Santa Clara
pottery, ground firing is the only way to get a black pot.
In ground firing, the pots are set on the ground, usually on
some sort of metal rack. The pots can't touch, but they are
packed pretty closely together. Then cedar sticks and slabs are
carefully piled around the pots, along with cow chips (manure).
The fire is lit, and everybody crosses their fingers and toes.
Once the fire has been burning long enough (how long is that?
Depends on how hot the fire is. How hot is that? Around 1200
degrees Fahrenheit. How do you know when it's that hot? Beats me,
but the potters know. That's why the pots cost more.)
horse manure is put onto the fire, completely covering it so
no smoke can escape. At this point there is some sort of chemical
reaction between the smoke and the clay and the slip, and the
pot is turned a permanent black. The black won't rub off, it's
permanent, an actual part of the pot.
After the right amount of time (don't ask) the potters very
carefully uncover the fire,lifting out each pot. If they didn't
put enough sand (or if they put too much) in the clay the
danger of breakage is very high. The pot will be perfect,
except for a crack or hole on one side. The pots are allowed
to cool, then they are ready to sell.
To summarize, let's review why hand built pots cost more than
ceramic pots, and how you can tell the difference. The reason
hand built pots cost more is because of the additional time
required to actually build the pot , literally from scratch.
Also, the risk of having a ruined pot is much higher due to
the method of firing and the types of clay, especially in
ground fired pots. Because of the extra time required to
build the pot, they are often more advanced in design and
details. Depending on the quality of the pot, hand built
pots can cost anywhere from one hundred dollars to say, ten
thousand dollars. What's the difference? The attention to
detail, the design, the size, the artist's name and reputation.
This piece is not intended as a put down to ceramic pots.
They certainly can be beautiful, requiring a lot of talent to
make. However, the price is much lower. So,when you're
standing in a shop, or looking at our Internet site, what do
you look for in a pot? The first thing you should look for is
a reputable dealer that knows what they are talking about. An
honest dealer will tell you if a pot is hand built or
ceramic, who built the pot, and so on. But, if you're on your
own and all the help is busy, what do you do? Pick up the
pot. A hand built pot is usually heavier than a ceramic pot
because the walls are thicker, and the different type of clay
is more dense. A good hand built pot should be nearly as
symmetrical as a ceramic pot. However, you may see slight
imperfections. The inside of a hand built pot should be
fairly smooth, but there will be a slight bumpiness or
waviness. In certain cases, it can be difficult to tell
the difference between the two types of pot. Sometimes it is
real obvious, sometimes not. The quality of the pot is the
determining factor. But all pottery should be enjoyed,
and is wonderful to have around.