Historic 4-Color Polychrome Acoma Water Jar

Item #: 701
Origin: Acoma with Laguna reference
Date: 1880 – 1900
Media: Clay
Dimensions: 11.5″ tall, 12.5″ diameter
Description: This wonderful jar is full of life!  I love the shape, having reference to an earlier form with the strong shoulder and the smaller opening at the top.  One can also feel a slight puki ridge on the underbelly, also suggesting an earlier age.  The pottery is thin and has 4 separate colors circulating around the jar. There is a date of 1885 scratched in the bottom, which appears to be original, or perhaps some time later?

When looking at any side, one wonders in the symmetry of the jar, in how the rectangular boxes are being pulling by double bands.  These boxes appear to be in a tug of war as if the bands are trying to wrestle the rectangle one way or the other.  When one looks down on top of the jar one sees the strong symmetry. The use of black shapes, from leaves to rectangles to tails all have a Laguna look, especially in how they arc around the jar and the way the small rectangles sit on their corners.

This jar has had some restoration, including a small hole at the very base that was filled as well as a couple cracks and such that required some repainting.

Price: SOLD