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  • Stories In Clay
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Laguna/Acoma dough bowl

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c. 1830-1850

Unknown maker
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Acoma
Clay and paint
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8¼ x 16½ in. (21 x 41.9 cm)
Vilcek Foundation Collection
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VF2014.01.01

This four-color Acoma polychrome bowl features white slip with black, red, and orange painted decoration. The identification of this bowl as both Laguna and Acoma Pueblos indicate the very close similarities in pottery-making as well as the geographical locale of the two Pueblos, which historically shared resources and supplies and which speak a similar dialect of the Keresan language. This bowl is strikingly unique for its red and orange floral motifs that hang off the head of the flared leaves. In between each black winged plant is a diagonal band of checkerboards representing crops. The mouth of the bowl is outlined with double black lines, which rest on a warped mouth, likely the result of the firing process. The base of the bowl has a high red base that matches the interior slip.

3D Model