Adobe Gallery Blog

With the arrival of the transcontinental rail line passing through New Mexico, potters at Acoma Pueblo realized a market for pottery that would generate cash for their work. The train stopped at Laguna Pueblo and Acoma potters would take their wares and join the Laguna potters in selling to the train passengers. That is one reason there is confusion concerning whether a jar was from Acoma or Laguna.  Little documentation was gathered in the frantic hurry to make a purchase before the train had to continue on its way. A buyer might have made a note that the jar was purchased at Laguna Pueblo, but failed to note whether it was from an Acoma or Laguna potter, a fact of which the buyer may not have even been aware.

Although potters were busy making pottery for the daily train passing through, they also continued making magnificent pottery for their own use and for sale to the trader who had a ready market for fine pottery. This jar could have been made either for use at the pueblo or for sale to one of the many traders and museums eagerly looking for fine examples.  This one probably dates to around 1940, a time when using designs from prehistoric New Mexico pottery was popular.

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