The Pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo [Hardcover]

Francis Harvey Harlow (Author), Duane Anderson (Author), Dwight P. Lanmon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2005

The small village of Santa Ana Pueblo in north-central New Mexico has for centuries made distinctive pottery for domestic and ritual use. In this book, the authors relate new ideas about the evolution of pottery styles made at Santa Ana and compare these styles with those found elsewhere in the Pueblo ceramic tradition. In particular, this richly visual study describes the chronological sequence of forms and designs based on evidence not heretofore available. The book analyses the sequence from the earliest date, circa 1760, when positive evidence of Santa Ana origin can be identified, through the end of pottery making for local use about 1925 through various revivals to the present time. The pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo exemplifies the fine artistic achievement that has brought Pueblo ceramics worldwide acclaim. In this study, Pueblo pottery authority Francis H Harlow, along with anthropologist Duane Anderson and historian Dwight P Lanmon, provides an original and groundbreaking investigation into the origins and evolution of this pueblo's exemplary pottery. The result furnishes criteria for dating any vessel that comes to hand. A chapter on the recognised potters of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries recounts efforts to keep pottery traditions alive for future working potters.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Francis H Harlow is a leading authority on Pueblo ceramics. A physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratories, he is the author of eight books. Duane Anderson is director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe and the author of several books. Dwight P Lanmon, research associate at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the School of American Research, is former CEO and director of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 185 pages
• Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890134375
• ISBN-13: 978-0890134375
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,990,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Review from SouthWest BookViews Summer 2005, September 2, 2005

By 

Kim Messier (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo (Hardcover)

When given the opportunity to review The Pottery of Santa Ana Pueblo I asked myself, as a researcher and collector of Native American pottery, why Santa Ana warranted a detailed and exhaustive study of its pottery production. After all, Santa Ana has produced very little pottery in the last century and is not very well known to the general public. But after reexamining the 2003 release of The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon (published by School of American Research Press) I found this most recent volume could easily be considered the continuation of that earlier work.

The necessity in analyzing wares from Santa Ana lies in the fact that the pottery of both pueblos, at least until about 1760, so closely resembles each other as to be nearly indistinguishable. Thus, to accurately define pottery from Zia (which has always been a prolific village) it is also necessary to define that of Santa Ana.

In the course of their research the authors say they were able to "(d)escribe the chronological sequence of forms and designs based on evidence that has not previously been utilized." To that end they trace the evolution of Santa Ana pottery from its early roots with a discussion of Puname pottery styles (c. 1450-1760) to the first pottery style identifiable at Santa Ana Pueblo (c. 1760) up to the end of pottery making for local use at the village (c. 1925), and through various revivals up to the present.

Pottery from museums around the world was examined and 300 vessels (more or less) have been illustrated in color, making this volume exceedingly thorough in scope and of enormous benefit to researchers and museum personnel. Organized chronologically, well over half the text appears to be intended for researchers and archaeologists, since collectors have limited access to pre-1880 pieces. The last two chapters will interest collectors most, because during the technical discussions of paste, temper and form (as well as at the rather monotonous litanies of design elements of each illustrated piece) the average collector's eyes will likely glaze over. Yet this detailed analysis is critical to the understanding of the fundamental differences that define pottery by period, style and village of manufacture. Certainly the discussion of the ceremonial break and associated path line in Pueblo pottery is invaluable.

The author's collective credentials are impeccable, and all are associated with the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe; Harlow and Lanmon as Research Associates, Anderson as Director. Harlow, who is a physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is also one of the foremost authorities on pueblo pottery and has written or collaborated on more than half a dozen publications about Southwest Native American pottery. Anderson wrote All That Glitters (published by SAR Press in 1999) about micaceous pueblo pottery, and Lanmon recently authored When Rain Gods Reigned for Museum of New Mexico Press in 2002 (SBV Vol. 2/2).

The result is a nicely produced, large format hardcover with glossy pages and color photos; a beautiful-and informative-book that should become a foundation in any library, public or private, about Southwest Native American art. It is hoped the series will continue to encompass every pottery-making village or tribe in New Mexico and Arizona.