Santa Clara Pueblo Black Bowl Pottery

Mid/Late 20th Century

1.25" H x 1.75" D

Hand Coiled with a Polished Finish

In Very Good Condition

Santa Clara Pueblo black bowl pottery refers to the renowned blackware (or black-on-black) pottery tradition from Santa Clara Pueblo (Kha'po Owingeh in Tewa), one of the Northern Pueblo communities in New Mexico.

This style features a distinctive glossy, deep black finish achieved through traditional hand-coiling techniques and a special firing process. Potters use local clay to form vessels (often bowls, jars, or seed pots) by hand-coiling and shaping. After polishing to a high sheen, the pieces are fired in a reduction atmosphere—typically smothered with dung or other materials to limit oxygen—which carbonizes the surface, turning the entire pot black (sometimes with matte designs for contrast in related styles).