Ancestral Pueblo: Greater Upper Rio Grande ValleyNorthern Rio GrandeGreater Tewa Basin (Northern Tewa)Northern Rio Grande Historic Bichrome - Polychrome WareOgapoge Polychrome

Type Name: Ogapoge Polychrome

Period: 1725 A.D. - 1825 A.D.
Culture: Ancestral Pueblo: Greater Upper Rio Grande Valley
Branch: Northern Rio Grande
Tradition: Greater Tewa Basin (Northern Tewa)
Ware: Northern Rio Grande Historic Bichrome - Polychrome Ware


First posted by C. Dean Wilson 2012

Ogapoge Polychrome was defined by Mera (1939). This represent one of the most poorly defined and problematic types defined for the Tewa polychrome sequence. This type is distinguished from other polychrome types of the Tewa series by the addition of red paint to design elements that tend to be distinct for this type (Batkin 1987; Harlow 1973; Mera 1939; Wilson 2011). While the use of both black organic and red painted designs have been rarely reported for Tewa Polychrome, given other distinctive attributes it should not be hard to confuse the from Ogapoge Polychrome (Lang 1997). Ogapoge Polychrome mainly dates to the middle eighteenth century. Warren (1979) proposes that this type was produced between A.D. 1720 and 1800, although it has been noted in contexts dating to the early 19th century.

Ogapoge Polychrome is almost exclusively represented by jars although bowls have been noted. Red slips tend to be limited to the lower body and very upper part of the rim, as the white slipped area is larger than the preceding type. A very large portion of the jar is decorated with a bold and naturalistic design. Painted lines are broader then in Tewa Polychrome, and solid designs tend to be larger (Batkin 1987). Particularly common are stylized feather motifs where the tips are often filled with red. Such designs appear to have been derived from western Keres and Zuni matte painted polychrome types (Snow 1982) Differences in design, and the use of carbon paint in Tewa district signify long-term trends which continue to distinguish regional Pueblo pottery traditions.

References:
Batkin, Jonathan
1987 Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico, 1700 to 1900. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs.

Harlow, Francis H.
1973 Matte Paint Pottery of the Tewa, Keres, and Zuni Pueblos. Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.

Mera, H. P.
1939 Style Trends of Pueblo Pottery in the Rio Grande and Little Colorado Cultural Areas from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century. Laboratory of Anthropology Memoris 3, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.

Snow, David H.
1982 The Rio Grande Glaze, Matte Paint, and Plainware Traditions. In Southwestern Ceramics: A Comparative Review, edited by A.H. Schroeder, pp. 235-278. The Arizona Archaeologist, Vol 15, Phoenix.

Warren, A. Helene
1979 Historic Pottery of the Cochiti Reservoir. In Adaptive Change in the Northern Rio Grande, edtied by J.V. Biella and R.C. Chapman, pp, 235-245. Archaeological Investigatons of Cochiti Reservoir, Vol 4. Office of Contract Archaeology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Wilson C. Dean
2011 Historic Indigenous Ceramic Types. In Settlers and Soldiers: The Historic Component at El Pueblo de Santa Fe (LA 1051), by S. C. Lentz and M. J. Barbour, pp 223 -234. Archaeology Notes, 438. Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.




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Ogapopoge Polychrome jar sherds

Ogapoge jar sherds

Ogapoge jar sherd

Ogapoge jar sherds

Ogapoge Polychrome jar