Jacob Frye, Tewa Motif Olla with gold accents

This pot by Tesuque potter Jacob Frye exemplifies the continuity and innovation of Tewa ceramic traditions. Hand-built using locally harvested clay and natural paints, the vessel features finely balanced Tewa motifs—stylized feathers, stepped forms, and ceremonial geometry—that reference landscape, movement, and cultural knowledge. Frye’s addition of gold luster paint introduces a contemporary layer of meaning. The gold subtly evokes New Mexico’s long-standing association with El Dorado, the mythical land of wealth that drew Spanish explorers north. Here, gold is not excess but metaphor, reframing abundance as cultural endurance, land-based knowledge, and artistic sovereignty rather than colonial extraction. Across the vessel’s surface, repeating bands organize the imagery into a rhythmic, almost architectural sequence. Feather forms suggest prayer, protection, and movement between worlds, while stepped elements echo mesa profiles and pathways of emergence. Crosshatched sections ground the composition, evoking cultivated fields and communal labor, and the balanced symmetry reflects Tewa values of harmony, order, and continuity.