August 2007

Acoma bowl   artist: Rebecca (Lewis) Lucario

Gift of the Estate of Agnes T. and Don L. Smith

Dimensions:  H: 3 1/2”  Diameter: 5 1/2” 

98.1.63 (S#P11)

“From 1750 to the present, Acoma ’s standard for fine pottery has been set by the large, thin-walled white olla. Tempered with the ground up sherds of broken pottery, the surface of a smoothed and unpolished Acoma jar has a matted velvet feel that ware from other pueblos seldom approaches”

                 --excerpt from “Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni"

The Acoma people reside in New Mexico , Southeast of Albuquerque in Sky City , which has been inhabited for centuries; their name means “The People of the White Rock.” Acoma legend states that the sacred twins led their ancestors to the magical white rock that would be their home forever, called Ako. The twins also showed Acoma ancestors the whitest and finest clay in the southwest. Since the 18^th century potters have made thin walled, large ollas (water jars) coated with white slip and decorated with red and black designs. Acoma pottery is tempered with ground-up sherds of broken pottery giving the piece a smoothed and unpolished look about it. An indented bottom is traditional in Acoma pottery; it was meant to provide stability when carried on one’s head.