Acoma Four-color Polychrome Parrot Jar [SOLD]

Frances Torivio was a sister of Lolita Concho and the mother of Lilly Salvador and Wanda Aragon. She was one of the important matriarchs of Acoma and made large jars in the prime of her life. She was still attending Indian Market in 2001 at the grand age of 96, and proudly displaying smaller items.

We must emphasize that she was one of the important matriarchs of Acoma Pueblo pottery families and had gained fame as an outstanding potter.  In 1976, she taught traditional pottery-making classes not only for her own family, but for many, many more at the pueblo.   She once described how she and her sister, Lolita Concho, learned pottery making the hard way, without someone to teach them.  Torivio gained fame as an outstanding potter, as did her sister.

Torivio never fell into the trend of other Acoma potters who started painting green ware pottery or firing in a commercial kiln.  She always continued following ancient techniques of acquiring her clay from Mother Nature, grinding up potsherds for temper, hand coiling the pottery, using all native materials for paints, and firing the pottery in the traditional outdoors technique.

I first met Frances Torivio shortly after opening the gallery in 1978 and she often make large jars for me.  It was also through her that I met her daughter-in-law, Dorothy Torivio.  I recall once that Frances made a large Acoma jar to match one in an R.C. Gorman lithograph and we sold the lithograph and her jar together.  She was a wonderful person as well as an outstanding potter. 

This jar is a standard-size water jar with parrots around the neck.  The body is decorated with a chain of diamonds alternating between black and orange designs. Black triangles suspend from the design in the form of rain.  The seed pods at the neck are painted grey, which is the fourth color of the four-color polychrome designation.

Condition:  very good condition with only a couple of very insignificant spall spots

Provenance: from a gentleman in Albuquerque

Recommended Reading: Acoma and Laguna Pottery by Rick Dillingham