Acoma Pueblo Polychrome Jar with Parrot Designs, 1978 [SOLD]

When I was preparing to open the gallery in Albuquerque Old Town, which opened on 9 September 1978, I was making frequent trips to the New Mexico pueblos to purchase pottery because that was the main feature in those days.  I purchased this Acoma jar from Juana Leno just a few days before the grand opening of the gallery.

Juana was one of my very favorite potters at that time and I visited her and purchased pottery from her on a frequent basis.  I don’t recall that she ever came into town to sell to me.  I always went to Acoma to buy from her.

This jar is typical of the very fine work she produced.  She was an excellent potter and painter of designs.  The parrot under the arched rainbow is repeated three times around the vessel.  The rainbow is comprised of split parallelograms, often attributed to potters at Laguna, but we know this one is from Acoma because it was signed by the artist.

Condition: structurally in original condition with some very minor paint abrasion

Provenance:  Purchased by Adobe Gallery from the artist in 1978 and sold to a client in Albuquerque from whose estate it is being offered.

Recommended Reading: Acoma & Laguna Pottery by Rick Dillingham