Acoma Pueblo Small Polychrome Jar

A Journey Through the Acoma Pottery Tradition

Despite its modest size, this jar is a testament to the grandeur of craftsmanship, boasting a shape that harks back to the Acoma's Ako period pottery of the 1750s. The Ako influence is evident in the high shoulder and in the rim treatment, characterized by a short vertical strip for reinforcement. The exterior rim's dark brown pigment transitions to red on the interior, marking the end of the Ako pottery resemblance.

A later influence is the use of traditional designs borrowed from their neighbor, Zuni Pueblo. The arrow-shape element with orange horizontal parallel lines and a checkerboard arrow head are traditional to historic Zuni Pueblo of the 1800s. The orange design squeezed between the arrowhead ones is a bird with a long beak, another design borrowed from Zuni.

This particular jar, with its flat bottom, deviates from the typical characteristics of pottery made for home use. It seems to have been crafted purely for a buyer's enjoyment. The high-shouldered jar is adorned with cream slip from just below the rim to the orange underbody.  There is a single framing line under the rim and it has a ceremonial line break. Two framing lines demarcate the end of the design placement and the orange underbody., both of which feature ceremonial line breaks. We estimate that this jar dates back to the early 1900s, a period rich in cultural and artistic expression.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Acoma Pueblo Small Polychrome Jar is from the collection of a Santa Fe resident

Reference: Batkin, Jonathan. Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700-1940.  The Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1987.

TAGS: Southwest Indian Pottery, Acoma Pueblo, Historic Pottery