Polychrome ware is a multi-colored form of pottery created by the southwestern Indian tribes (including the Pueblo and Navajo cultures) that appeared sometime around 1300 AD. It's believed that about two thousand years ago the Native Americans began to settle down as agriculture replaced their nomadic hunter and gatherer lifestyles.

According to Dr. Carl Dentzel, the late director of the Southwestern Museum in Los Angeles, he has carbon-dated pots from North America that are 30,000 years old. Pottery that was used for cooking by being placed directly on the fire, soon found new uses like storing grains and other seeds. Originally the pottery consisted of one color and was etched after the surface was smoothed to decorate the piece. Facilitated by different shapes, sizes, and decorations, hierarchical forms of vessels developed over time to compliment the various purposes of the pottery. For example the best seeds or variety of seeds would be kept in the most decorated pots until the next growing season.

Pottery plays an integral role during rituals and burials and even today many of the existing tribes don't divulge the true meanings of the symbols and patterns on their pieces because of their deep religious significance. The clayware is traditionally made by the women of the tribes and is still made using the traditional techniques passed down generation after generation.

The clay is commonly excavated from sacred sites where the artist's ancestors have extracted it for centuries. Following excavation the fresh clay is mixed with ground-up shards of fired clay to help the new pots resist thermal shock during the firing. Without the use of a throwing-wheel, the potter uses coiling and pinching techniques to create the desired shape of the piece. After the shape of the vessel is formed the surface is sanded smooth, the pottery is ready to be painted. The Pueblo Indians used boiled plant resins or ground metallic rocks to make pigments that would be painted on with the chewed end of a stick or other piece of plant material readily available. Once the vessel is formed and decorated it is fired in an open bonfire with temperatures up to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Today there are many galleries carrying pottery resembling the true Indian polychrome wares, but as the real thing becomes more popular collectors are educating themselves and learning how to spot the authentic ones.

Written by Jason Solarz

References:

Peterson, Susan (1997). Pottery by American Indian Women: The Legacy of Generations. New York: Abbeville Press.

Towner, Ronald H. (1996). The Archeology of Navajo Origins. Salt Lake City: University of Utah