THE ACOMA
Acoma (OCK-o-ma, accent on the first syllable) is in New Mexico, South of I-40 between Grants and Albuquerque. The old pueblo of Acoma is known as Sky City, possibly the oldest continously occupied area in the United States. Sky City has a seventeeth century church and connected adobe homes sitting on the top of a 350 foot high mesa.
Acoma Pottery is made from white clay, usually is thin-walled decorated in red and black. Prior to the railroad in 1880, traditional pieces were made fourteen to sixteen inches and were used for storage, these pieces were carried on the head, indented bottoms provided stability. A deep red colored underbody and inner band on ollas became more orange in later examples. However, the demand by tourists for souvenours small enough to fit into their suitcases brought on a change to smaller more eccentric pieces. Most Acoma pottery is traditionaly hand made and tempered with ground sherds of broken pottery, earlier Acoma potters didn't care which sherds they used as temper and as prehistoric sherds were plentiful around the mesa they used them. Many potters were inspired by the prehistoric Anasazi sherds and started using the designs. Master potter, Lucy Lewis was also encouraged by Kenneth Chapman of the Museum of New Mexico to study the Museum's extensive collection of Anasazi and Mimbres pottery. These designs and motifs can be seen used in pieces from the 1950's to today. Some contemporary potters have started using commercial greenware slip cast molds to keep up a higher production rate. Most of the pieces that are signed "Acoma, N.M" were made between 1930 and 1965, during this time Acoma potters had a strong belief that it was inappropriate display of ego to put their name on a pot. During the 1960's, Acoma clay developed impurities which led to spalling (little pits that popped out during firing).
Visit our Acoma Museum to see examples of this wonderful pottery.
References:
Southwestern Pottery Anasazi to Zuni by Alan Hayes and John Blom, 1996
Revised: 08/19/2007
Copyright 2007
The Prehistoric Collector Dan & Monica King BUYING AND SELLING 520-822-1195 Click here to visit our Gallery and Buy your own Acoma Pottery! Featured Item: Scalloped Rim Acoma Polychrome Jar SOLD |
