pottery ID help?

Hi there. I have a piece of (relatively) large SW pottery. I think it looks like Santa Clara, but it's unsigned and I've never seen a SC pot with horizontal ribs, so I don't know. Thanks for any help / direction anyone can provide!

 

I have seen Santa Clara pots with vertical ribs, but not horizontal. I will tag @Taupou for you. Hopefully she will turn up.

 

I've never seen a Santa Clara pot with horizontal rings, either. "Rings" are usually associated with pottery thrown on a potter's wheel, which Native Americans never traditionally used. However, the rings on a wheel-thrown pot are actually a long "coiling spiral" from the bottom of the pot up, not a stack of coils. No way to tell from a photo which this is.

Regardless, however, unless you know who the potter was, and their tribal affiliation (if any) or unless the pot was made before 1935 and is of a traditional style associated with a particular tribe...it can't be offered for sale as Native American or as from any particular tribe. That's according to federal law, under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.

It would be interesting to know, but I'm afraid there isn't going to be a definitive answer here. One should also remember, that any competent potter, anywhere in the world, can duplicate the look of a Santa Clara pot. It's basically a burnished pot that has been fired in a reduction atmosphere in an outdoor pit firing or bonfire. Black pottery like this is found in North, Central, and South America, as well as in Africa, China, eastern Europe and probably other places as well.

 

Thank you so much for the expert knowledge! I feel fairly sure that the pot was not made on a wheel, as it’s slightly asymmetric (hard to see in my admittedly weak photos) and it has pronounced finger indentations on the inside and is not particularly smooth (again, hard to see in my pix).
I have no plans to try and sell it, as I have just the right spot for it, but do appreciate the clarifications.
I can’t wait to post my next ‘I have no idea what this is’ piece! Thanks again.