This water jar presents the complex geometric design typical of Acoma pottery.

The shape of this vessel is distinguished by the high shoulder, the curved area below the opening where the jar swells to its widest diameter.  The overall design of the vase radiates out from a central medallion, in which white rectangles form a cross against curved black triangles.  Over the surface of the vase is a balanced, symmetrical design of black and white rectangles and triangles and stepped patterns with black and white lines.  In the Acoma tradition, the geometric patterns are precisely delineated and the proportions of their designs are maintained uniformly over the entire surface of the vessel.

Traditionally, Native American potters are women.  The basic techniques of Native American pottery have not changed over the centuries.  Clay is dug from pits, cleaned, and ground into a fine powder.  The powder is then mixed with water and is ready to be formed into a vessel.  To construct this jar, the potter began with a flat base.  Coils of clay were placed on top of each other and pinched together.  Using hands and tools, the potter shaped and smoothed the surface of the vessel.  Before painting, the vessel was covered with a thin layer of slip, a liquid clay mixture, then polished with a special stone.  The painted decoration was applied with brushes made of yucca leaves and the vessel was allowed to completely air-dry.  The dried pottery was then fired in a shallow pit.¹

The Pueblo people are descended from the Anasazi, early hunters and gatherers who lived in cliff houses.  They settled in the valley of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where they began to farm corn, beans, and squash.  To this day, the Pueblo people hold religious festivals to bring rain and a good harvest.  The Pueblo people also developed sophisticated weaving and pottery-making techniques.

Pueblo, a Spanish word meaning “town,” was given by Spanish explorers and refers to the multi-storied houses built from adobe or stone and constructed close together in Pueblo settlements.  Acoma is the southernmost of the Rio Grande pueblos and is situated on a tall outcropping of rock in the midst of the rugged mesas.  The Acoma pueblo has been inhabited continuously for more than 1,000 years.

1.  J. J. Brody, Beauty from the Earth:  Pueblo Indian Pottery from the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Philadelphia:  University of Pennsylvania, 1990), pp. 57-58.