Posted 7 years ago
ABQpotshot
(5 items)
This jar measures approximately 9" wide by 7" high. I'm curious about the age. I haven't seen this simplified type of Tularosa motif before. There is no signature, although the letters HLQ have been written in pencil on the bottom. There is significant pitting around the jar and some minor chips in the rim, but overall it is in good condition. My theory is that it is either mid-century (1960's) and made by a lay potter or trainee, or that it is of older historic age. Would anyone have any insight into the design and possible age? Thanks!
Hi and Welcome .... Beautiful bowl. I can not help you but Canyon Road hopefully will see this and give you information. Enjoy.
Antiquerose is right on all that! My guess is that it's older and looks like pieces that I've seen in the museum in Arizona but that's all I know about N.A. pottery, or that style anyway. Love it!
We need to see the bottom please.
The fact that it is unsigned, plus the little "pop-outs" (spalling), date this to the 1960s. This was a period when Acoma's clay source developed some impurities that resulted in the tiny white defects, that showed up after firing, and sometimes quite a time after the firing, so potters often weren't aware of the problem until long after the pots were sold.
Nearly every Acoma potter experienced the problem with their pottery. which didn't clear up until the early 1970s, when they either had found a new source of clay, or the original layer with the impurities was used up. But it does date the pots almost exclusively to the 1960s. Earlier pottery didn't have the problem, nor did later ones.
Thanks, CanyonRoad. I had heard about this problem with the clay. Have you seen similar decoration? (Tularosa elements without fine line-work)
Yes, copies of Tularosa designs are fairly common on Acoma pottery, both with and without fine line patterns.