Laguna Pueblo Small Polychrome Historic Pottery Jar Dated 1936 [SOLD]

This old Laguna Pueblo pottery jar reveals some of its history to us by information printed on the underside, information painted on with the brown pigment used in the design.  It states CJM 1936 Wingate N.M.  CJM certainly is the potter’s initials and Wingate is where she lived.  Although the potter could have been a resident of Acoma or Laguna, we have chosen Laguna as her tribal affiliation.  Our reasoning is based on the following thoughts.

The historic pottery vessel is thicker walled than we associate with pottery by Acoma potters.  The design is sparse compared with that by Acoma potters who are known to fill most of the area with design.  Laguna potters were sparser and left more open space in their designs.  A last thought is that Wingate was a station on the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, on Route 66 located 3 miles north of Fort Wingate near Grants, New Mexico, the closest village to Laguna Pueblo.  

The main designs, repeated on opposing sides, differ in complexity.  The boldest of the two designs is strongly geometric.  Its center starting point is a series of enclosed geometrics, starting with a brown diamond with a horizontal slit, enclosed in a brown outlined box which is equally enclosed with another brown box and a final frame of a square built of brown lines filled with slanted orange parallel lines.  This central motif has wings on its side walls composed of brown triangles, and arched clouds on top and bottom, filled with a strong orange slip outlined in brown pigment.

The other pair of designs is simpler.  The two components together form an arrowhead, probably not the intended purpose.  Each of its units is filled with brown slanted parallel lines.  The rim is brown with a framing line just below its edge.  An orange band covers the interior rim.  There is a slight fire cloud on one side, good evidence of an outdoor firing.

You may or may not agree with our attribution but, whether it was from the hands of a potter from Acoma or Laguna, it is still an attractive jar with some clues to its history boldly stated on its underside.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Laguna Pueblo Small Polychrome Historic Pottery Jar Dated 1936 is from the collection of a resident of Santa Fe

Reference: Acoma & Laguna Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Relative Links: Laguna Pueblo,  Native American Pottery, Acoma Pueblo