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| 004 Acoma Pueblo, c. 1900 - 1910 |
 Immersed in the stark geometric severity of this jar's designs are numerous traditional elements of great significance to the Acoma Indians' mythology and religion. Each great circular sunburst has three dominant elements: a vertical zigzag of triangles that is especially characteristic of Acoma symbology circa 1900, a pair of double-ended hatchured figures whose origins can be traced to the eleventh century, and the black objects with lozenge eyes who stare ominously at each other. The nearly ubiquitous nineteenth-century Acoma checkerboard is the connecting element between circular structures. They are supported top and bottom by stepped pyramids enclosing hatchured triangles with ¡Èrabbit ears." Preservation of so many traditional design elements pays homage to the generations of ancestors who occupied the bleak mesa-top Acoma village through the six centuries before this jar was made. Battling the elements, the invading Europeans, and the transitions to modern times (with the nearby railroad in 1878), these hardy Native Americans bolstered their spirits by the tenacious adherence to sacred symbology and ceremonies. With endless artistry and inventiveness they adapted the traditional design elements of their pottery into each new style, shown by this fine example made nearly a century ago.
-- Francis H. Harlow, Los Alamos |
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