Featured Is this a native American vase or something from a home decor shop?

I am hoping someone can help me identify this vase. It has a native American feel to it but I don't have clue. The design looks to be hand painted. The glaze has me stumped too. I can't find anything quite like it for any kind of comparable. Also, the pottery shard shown on the bottom of the vase in the last picture was found inside of it. It stands around 6 and a half inches tall and is around 7 inches in diameter. Thanks for any help.

 

The painted design motif and the fluted rim both match Kewa patterns (formerly called Santo Domingo Pueblo), but I've never seen a finish or glaze like this one.

Perhaps someone painted a finish / stain onto a preexisting Pueblo pot.

Or it could be a new experiment, though my understanding is that Kewa is fairly conservative when it comes to experimentation.

 

This was my first thought too. Your second thought is intriguing!

 

As pointed out, the finish is the problem here. First, Kewa potters, like all traditional Indian potters, do not use a glaze on their pottery.

For a brief time (prior to the 1700s), some Southwest Indian pottery was made with the design painted on with pigment containing minerals that turned to glaze when fired, but that practice was soon discontinued, probably because the glaze tended to run, ruining the design pattern.

But glaze, as we think of it today, as a coating for the the entire pot, was never used.

This does look like a glaze. There are no polishing marks indicating that it was polished. But the inside doesn't appear to be glazed. In fact, it looks like it was left rough (unless that is dirt or dust in the bottom), which would make it basically unusable.

Perhaps it is a result of rather poor photos/lighting. But based just on what I can see, I'd say it's more of a "home decor shop" copy, than traditional Kewa, or any other Native American Indian, pottery.

 

I LOVE the design on it and the coloring, regardless! There's also a 'faint' mark on the bottom of some sort.....don't know if it means anything and it's barely readable, as it is!!

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That totally flat base seems uncharacteristic as well. I am used to seeing a slightly dimpled base on a shape like that.

 

Thanks everyone. I would hate to think that someone would put a glaze over an authentic vase but also wouldn't be surprised. That said, it actually is a very attractive piece. The phone I used for photos had a cracked lens and my new one arrived today. With some sunshine finally forecast for tomorrow I will get some photos in natural sunlight and add those. And I missed the "faint" mark so I'll also look into that tomorrow.

 

Hi, just a few new pictures that may help a bit. One shows a scratch in the glaze and another shows the glaze extending just under the lip with some running/drips, but it isn't easy to see.