Acoma Pueblo Red Slipped Bowl with Corrugated Rim [SOLD]

Lucy Lewis was one of the most widely respected potters from her pueblo. She was the last of the Acoma matriarchs. She followed pueblo tradition in every step of pottery production—offering prayers of thanks to Mother Earth for the clay, taking only as much clay as she needed, working the clay with only her hands, forming the vessel from coils of clay, scraping the walls with tools fashioned from gourds, painting the vessel with slips and paints made from clay and vegetal sources and, finally, firing the finished pieces in an outdoor handmade kiln.

This lovely bowl was made in this manner. It is well balanced and symmetrical, beautifully polished to a warm velvety finish. It most probably dates to the 1960s based on the outstanding workmanship.

This bowl is attributed to having been made by Lucy Lewis based on a note inside the bowl left by the owner from whose estate it was acquired. The owner was an avid connoisseur of pueblo pottery and frequently visited the pueblos, attended pueblo dances, and knew many of the potters from a number of the pueblos. We have no doubt that this bowl was indeed made by Lucy Lewis. Many of the items in this collection were purchased directly from the artists.

Provenance: From the estate of Transcendental artist Florence Pierce of Albuquerque who passed away in 2007 at the age of 89. She was best known for luminescent paintings made of pigmented resins on reflective surfaces. Her interest in abstraction began in the 1930s when she was an associate of the Transcendental Painting Group. The New York Times called her "the doyenne of abstract art in the Southwest" following her art exhibit in New York City in 2006.