Black-on-white Spiral Design Acoma Jar [SOLD]

Most collectors know the name Mary Histia, sometimes confused with “Acoma Mary” but it is important to understand the differences between “Acoma Mary” and two other different Mary Histia potters. 

In research for the book The Pottery of Acoma Pueblo, the authors made the determination that the famous Vroman 1900 photograph of an Acoma potter holding a beautiful Acoma jar that is captioned “Acoma, Mary holding olla, 1900,” is not a photograph of the famous potter Mary Histia, as has been believed, but is of another Acoma potter, Mary Concho Brown.

There have been two Mary Histia potters in the 20^th century.  One is the current Mary D. (Lewis) Histia Garcia, who is a daughter of the famous potter Lucy Lewis and Torivio Haskaya. She first married David Histia, Sr., which then changed her name to Mary Histia.  A second marriage was to Marvin Garcia, so she became Mary Lewis Garcia.  She was born in 1933 and was an active potter from around the 1950s to the present day.  She is known to have signed her pottery variously as Mary Lewis, Mary Histia and Mary Lewis Garcia.

A second, and earlier, Mary Histia is the one known as the famous potter who was favored by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who purchased pottery from her for American embassies.  She was born in 1893/1895 and passed away in 1973.  As with many Acoma potters, most of her pottery was not signed in the first half of the 20^th century, as it was not considered important to do so at that time.  Many collectors never recorded the name of the potter from whom they purchased pottery.

This Acoma jar is easily attributable to the famous Mary Histia as there are others of the same or very similar design that are documented as her work.  A very similar jar in the Museum of New Mexico Collection (45135/12) is identified as having been made by Mary Histia in 1951.  Another quite similar example from a private Santa Fe collection has been attributed to Mary Histia and had been made in the 1940s. Lanmon & Harlow 2013 [443,25.40]

This jar was purchased in 1971 directly from Mary Histia at a pueblo event and Mary told the purchaser that she had made it some time ago.  It had a hairline crack at the rim, a crack which has been stabilized now, so that is probably the reason the potter had not sold it previously.

The design on this jar, and on the others previously mentioned, is an amazingly complicated one with all the swirls, steps, fine lines, curves, wide black lines and other elements.  It is almost unbelievable that the artist could apply all that design without utterly getting totally confused and frustrated.  Mary Histia was the kind of potter who excelled as such complicated work.

This is a strikingly beautiful jar with a high shoulder decorated in black-on-white designs and devoid of red except for the underbody.

The intricate Tularosa-style design is a series of curvilinear, rectilinear, and fine-line elements combined in an Escher-like manner that is as contemporary as any design and yet reflects its roots of a thousand years ago. This jar is unquestionably the work of Mary Histia; it is signed on the bottom simply Made in Acoma Sky City, New Mex.

Histia deserves to be classed as a Modernist artist. Her art is old, yet alive and dynamic—an expression of a continuing vigor. She did not confine her art to a mere repetition of her previous work, nor did she resort to meaningless geometric designs, but she continually experimented and added to her repertoire. Her designs are at once classic and modern.  The Tularosa-style designs were a favorite of hers although she produced innumerable other designs.

This is a signature piece by Mary Histia and was purchased directly from her so there is no doubt of its authenticity.

Condition: very good condition with a hairline crack that has been stabilized. A very few spall spots exist but are completely lost among the intricate design element.

Reference:  The Pottery of Acoma Pueblo by Harlow and Lanmon

Provenance: from the collection of the gentleman who purchased it directly from Mary Histia in 1971 and passed it on to the current owners.