Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo Pottery, “Rainbird” Jar by Thomas Tenorio

ca. 2008
Size 8″ H x 8.375″ D
Hand Coiled Vessel using Local Santo Domingo Clay which he Cleans and Mixes Himself. He scrapes and Polishes the Surfaces and Applies White Slip and Paints Intricate Bird and Flower Motifs with a Geometric Design with Natural Pigments
The “Rain Bird” (or rain parrot) motif in the Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo and broader Southwestern Pueblo cultures is a highly stylized spiritual symbol representing prayers for rain, water, and life. Because the Pueblo people rely on farming in an arid desert environment, this motif is a visual invocation for life-giving moisture, fertility, and community renewal.
Excellent Condition
Thomas Tenorio (born 1963, Kewa Puebloformerly known as Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico) is a self-taught Native American potter celebrated for reviving and innovating traditional Santo Domingo pottery techniques. Given the Keresan name “U-Nah-Thee-Wah” at birth, he comes from the Aguilar family, known for heishi bead-making, but discovered his great-grandmother’s legacy in roadside pottery sales during the 1940s. Inspired by the fading traditiononce practiced by nearly every family in the pueblo during the 1930s and 1940sTenorio began creating pottery in the early 1990s to preserve this cultural heritage.