San Ildefonso Tewa Pueblo Pottery Dough Bowl Alfredo Montoya Attributed Ba Tse

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San Ildefonso Tewa Pueblo Pottery Dough Bowl Alfredo Montoya Attributed Ba Tse:
$45000.00

New Mexico

Alfredo Montoya

Ba Tse (Tonita Pena)

Circa 1910

Height 9 1/2" Diameter 16 1/2"

Provenance: Private collection in Indianapolis for over 30 years

In 40 years of handling Native American Pottery this without a doubt is the finest example that I have had a pleasure of handling. A true world class masterpiece, this incredible bowl was painted by Tewa artist Alfredo Montoya with the actual bowl being formed by Ba Tse having a beautifully formed stone polished surface. The four elaborate birds (all different) are surrounded by geometric imagery on the inside.

The former owner contacted Wheelwright director in 1991 Jonathan Batkin who responded in a letter "Your bowl is quite beautiful and as you suggest, San IIldefonso bowls are relatively scarce. I know from other documented pieces that your bowl was painted by Alfredo Montoya and I suspect it was made by Ba Tse (Tonita Pena). Thanks again for sharing your great pot". In unrestored condition with superb original patina.

This bowl is especially significant because it brings together two important early San Ildefonso Pueblo artists at a formative moment in the history of Pueblo pottery. The combination of Ba Tse’s strong, stone-polished vessel form with Alfredo Montoya’s finely controlled painted imagery gives the piece both sculptural presence and exceptional painted detail. The scale, condition, provenance, and accompanying 1991 Wheelwright Museum correspondence make this an unusually well-documented and important example of early 20th-century San Ildefonso pottery.

Original letter included. See photos