Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico
Circa 1910
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 5 in (12.7 cm); diameter 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Fred Harvey Collection, with original label "From the Pueblo of Acoma"; private collection, Boston, MA
The Fred Harvey Company, which operated hotels and restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from the 1870s onward, played a significant role in the early collection and distribution of Pueblo pottery, commissioning and acquiring objects directly from Native communities and selling them to travelers as authenticated examples of Southwestern material culture. Vessels carrying original Fred Harvey labels represent a documented collecting history of the earliest period of the commercial Pueblo pottery market, and this seed pot retains its original label identifying it as coming directly from Acoma Pueblo. The form — a low, wide-bodied vessel with a distinctive inward-turning rim that encloses a darkened interior — is among the most distinctive Acoma vessel types, associated with seed storage and ceremonial use.
The decoration is organized in two registers: bold floral and leaf motifs in black and red-orange on the upper body, and geometric triangular and stepped forms on the lower body, reflecting the dual decorative vocabulary of early twentieth century Acoma potters working at the intersection of traditional form and the growing outside market. The cream white slip ground, confident painted line work, and polychrome palette are characteristic of Acoma production in the years around 1910. The Boston private collection provenance adds a further layer to a well-documented collecting history.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico
Circa 1910
Ceramic, white slip, mineral pigment
Height 5 in (12.7 cm); diameter 10 in (25.4 cm)
Provenance: Fred Harvey Collection, with original label "From the Pueblo of Acoma"; private collection, Boston, MA
The Fred Harvey Company, which operated hotels and restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from the 1870s onward, played a significant role in the early collection and distribution of Pueblo pottery, commissioning and acquiring objects directly from Native communities and selling them to travelers as authenticated examples of Southwestern material culture. Vessels carrying original Fred Harvey labels represent a documented collecting history of the earliest period of the commercial Pueblo pottery market, and this seed pot retains its original label identifying it as coming directly from Acoma Pueblo. The form — a low, wide-bodied vessel with a distinctive inward-turning rim that encloses a darkened interior — is among the most distinctive Acoma vessel types, associated with seed storage and ceremonial use.
The decoration is organized in two registers: bold floral and leaf motifs in black and red-orange on the upper body, and geometric triangular and stepped forms on the lower body, reflecting the dual decorative vocabulary of early twentieth century Acoma potters working at the intersection of traditional form and the growing outside market. The cream white slip ground, confident painted line work, and polychrome palette are characteristic of Acoma production in the years around 1910. The Boston private collection provenance adds a further layer to a well-documented collecting history.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
