Southwestern Style Black on Black Pottery

Black on black pottery is a Native American style of pottery primarily found in the Southwest in places like New Mexico created by the Pueblo tribes located in the region.

 

The zig-zag and spiral patterns as well as the animal, floral and nature-oriented designs on the pottery are similar to the designs found on the terracotta and red clay pottery made in South America.

The pottery is made using a combination of two different clays mined by the natives, they are mixed together, hand-shaped and hand-carved.

Using an hand-built outdoor kiln, the pottery is placed in a metal wire basket then immersed in a fire.

They wait until the pottery turns a vibrant, bright red color before they smother it in soil and manure. The pots remain smoldering beneath until the fire subsides and the pottery cools down.

Then, they remove the basket and reveal the richly black pottery gleaming like glossy obsidian igneous rock with the carved designs in a lighter charcoal color or the reverse, with the designs in a dark luster and the pottery in a soft, matte black.

This type of pottery is a contemporary take on a traditional native american style able to adorn many different style homes from southwestern to modern.