Reyecita Trujillo is one of the early revivalists in San Juan pottery.  This plate is the “second phase” of incised pottery at San Juan.  The Potsuwi’i linear incised pieces quickly became the incised and slipped polychrome pottery of the late 1930s.  This allowed the potters to create new imagery.  The back is polished with the deeper red of earlier San Juan pottery.  The front is incised with a butterfly and highlighted with white and red clay slips.  Note the complexity of Reycita’s designs and the flow of imagery.  It is signed on the back in the clay, “Reycita Trujillo”. The plate is in good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.

Reyecita was one of the original Eight San Juan potters who revived the art form in the 1930s.  At San Juan, the Pueblo was renown for their pottery but by about 1890 there were no potters left. In 1930 Regina Cata organized a pottery study group at San Juan Pueblo with the intent of revitalizing pottery production. The group studied ancient potsherds of wares made at San Juan in earlier times and selected Potsuwi‘i Incised Ware (1450-1500) as a basis for a contemporary pottery type.

“Revival Rising” Ohkay Owingeh Pottery 1930s-60s