Acoma Pueblo Old Polychrome Serving Bowl [SOLD]

Three quarters of a century, from 1880 to the 1950s, saw an immense change in pueblo pottery in most of the pueblos and that includes pottery from Acoma Pueblo.  When the transcontinental railroad passed through New Mexico Territory in 1880, it made a stop at Laguna Pueblo to give the tourists a chance to see the highly touted Indians of the area.  Potters from Acoma Pueblo would load their wares on burros and take the trip to Laguna to sell to the train travelers.  It did not take long for the potters to realize that their magnificent large and beautiful pottery was not practical for travelers to handle, so the potters began making smaller items for that purpose.

Following World War I, the railroad moved its tracks from Laguna over to the Acoma villages, thus greatly facilitating the Acoma potters and devastating those at Laguna.  In the 1930s, Route 66 was built along the former railroad route giving potters from both pueblos another outlet to set up stands along the highway to sell their wares.  Converting Route 66 to Interstate 25 ended that procedure, however.

As potters began to change to meet the demands of the travelers, they also began incorporating changes they thought would appeal to the buyers—changes based on Victorian wares, such as fluted rims seen on imported glass bowls.  It is quite possible that is when fluted rims on pueblo pottery bowls began.

Potters continued making beautiful jars and bowls for their own use and for trade to other pueblos while they made non-functional items for the market.  This Acoma bowl could certainly have served as a functional bowl in an Acoma home but the fact that it has a fluted rim could be an indication that it was made to sell, probably shortly after the 1950s or the 1960s.  Also there is no indication of ethnographic wear from use.

The white slip on the exterior of the bowl was highly polished and has absorbed a beautiful patina over the decades.  The brown and red decorations were precisely placed by experienced hands.  The bowl has a commanding presence.

Condition: very good condition with a sound ring.  One minor chip on the interior of the rim is the only flaw. 

Recommended Reading: Acoma & Laguna Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a Santa Fe resident who has unfortunately moved to another city and found it necessary to greatly reduce her collection.