Acoma Pueblo Polychrome Olla with Birds [SOLD]

Shortly before 1900, it appears that Acoma Pueblo potters underwent a creative period in which they began painting totally different designs on pottery from those previously being used. Perhaps it was because so many museums were sending representatives to New Mexico to collect pottery that the potters decided to be creative and produce more spectacular pottery in the hopes that theirs would attract the collectors.

It was also around circa 1900 that jar shapes gradually began to change.  One change that occurred was moving the widest diameter of the jar from mid-body to upper-body, very near the shoulder.  Designs traditional to Zuni pottery were beginning to appear on Acoma pottery at this time as well.

It is not known exactly when potters started signing their wares at Acoma but it was generally around the end of World War II, a time when tourists began travelling again and buying souvenirs.  Harlow and Lanmon state that the very first signature by an Acoma potter was in 1931, but that was not the general case.  The words Acoma Pueblo and Sky City seem to have been the first identifying marks placed on pottery, followed by the potter’s name at a later date. 

This Acoma jar probably dates to the late 1930s or early 1940s.  The widest diameter is at the upper body, a trend that was well established by then.  The design chosen by the potter is that of two stylized bird heads contained in a closed circle, a design repeated three times around the body.  The jar has Acoma, n. m. on the underside, but no potter’s name. 

Condition: structurally good condition with some spalling

Provenance: from the collection of a California family

Recommended Reading:  The Pottery of Acoma Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon.