Aguilar Family
Encyclopedia
The Aguilar Family is a family of Native American
potters
from Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico
, United States
, consisting of three sisters, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Cate and Mrs. Ramos Aguilar.
In the early 1900s, pottery making at Santo Domingo Pueblo had experienced a significant decline. In 1910, Julius Seligman, who worked at the Bernalillo Mercantile Company near the pueblo, noticed the decline. At his suggestion, three sisters, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Cate and Mrs. Ramos Aguilar, attempted to revive the dying art. The three women worked together making pottery and their work became known as “Aguilar pottery.”
The Aguilar sisters made traditional polychrome olla
s, jars and dough bowls with several different styles of decoration. The painting style for which they are best known was black paint on a white slip or black and red on a white slip, which almost totally obscured the white background. This style was unique compared to the typical geometric forms of Santo Domingo pottery where areas were usually left open of unpainted. This style has become known as “negative boldface” or reverse-painted Aguilar pottery.
They also made traditional Santo Domingo types including black-on-cream and black-on-red.
The Aguilar sisters' style of pottery ended around 1915 but is today making a comeback as the Aguilar polychrome style has been revived by one of Santo Domingo’s leading potters, Robert Tenorio.
The Denver Art Museum
in Denver, Colorado
has the finest collection of Aguilar family pottery today. The School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico
also has several excellent examples of their work.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
potters
Native American pottery
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks,...
from Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, consisting of three sisters, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Cate and Mrs. Ramos Aguilar.
In the early 1900s, pottery making at Santo Domingo Pueblo had experienced a significant decline. In 1910, Julius Seligman, who worked at the Bernalillo Mercantile Company near the pueblo, noticed the decline. At his suggestion, three sisters, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Cate and Mrs. Ramos Aguilar, attempted to revive the dying art. The three women worked together making pottery and their work became known as “Aguilar pottery.”
The Aguilar sisters made traditional polychrome olla
Olla
An Olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes. Ollas have a short wide neck and a wider belly, resembling beanpots or handis.-History:...
s, jars and dough bowls with several different styles of decoration. The painting style for which they are best known was black paint on a white slip or black and red on a white slip, which almost totally obscured the white background. This style was unique compared to the typical geometric forms of Santo Domingo pottery where areas were usually left open of unpainted. This style has become known as “negative boldface” or reverse-painted Aguilar pottery.
They also made traditional Santo Domingo types including black-on-cream and black-on-red.
The Aguilar sisters' style of pottery ended around 1915 but is today making a comeback as the Aguilar polychrome style has been revived by one of Santo Domingo’s leading potters, Robert Tenorio.
The Denver Art Museum
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
has the finest collection of Aguilar family pottery today. The School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
also has several excellent examples of their work.