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View 1 Photograph by Peter Gabriel Studio. Copyright 2020-2021 Peter Gabriel Studio.

Storage jar

View 1
Photograph by Peter Gabriel Studio. Copyright 2020-2021 Peter Gabriel Studio.

Storage jar

Date: 1910-1925
Artist or Maker: Maria Cimarron
Dimensions:
H: 34.3 x Dia: 47 cm (H: 13 1/2 x Dia: 18 1/2 in.)
Medium: clay | paints
Credit Line: Indian Arts Fund purchase for the permanent collection, 1929.
Place Made:
Valencia County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.1206
On view at The Vilcek Foundation, New York, NY
DescriptionAcoma polychrome storage jar; three-color; white slip with black and orange painted decoration. The design consists of double-headed thunderbirds, deer, arcs with rectangular “eye”, and stepped bands of hatching (rain lines) or solid black. Orange flat base.
Tribal Collection Review RemarksAccording to the participants in the Acoma collection review visit February 17-19, 2016 (Events Record “Collection Review: Acoma Pueblo Review 5”): This is a storage jar. The base is flat and not concave, which is also a characteristic of storage jars. The base or “puki” used to build the pot was likely a metal wash tub or something similar in size. There are a lot of areas where the paint was scraped because of a mistake. The rim has two pitch repairs. The design includes a double-headed thunderbird. The correct spelling of the artist’s last name is “Cimarron”.

According to the participants in the Acoma collection review visit February 26-27, 2019 (Events Record “Collection Review: Acoma Pueblo Review 12”): Storage jars are constructed with thicker walls than water jars in order to support their size and the weight of the contents they would carry. The base of a storage jar is either round or flat. Storage jars were likely stored in cool places and stored items such as dried meats, crops from the garden, and other goods.

Storage jars are no longer being used or made at Acoma today. Jars that are made today that are comparable in size to that of a storage jar are usually made for sale and not for use.
The Indian Arts Research Center, in collaboration with Native American community scholars, strives to present accurate collections records. Records may be updated as new information becomes available and is reviewed with the Native American community having cultural affinity to particular items. Please write to iarc@sarsf.org if you have questions or concerns related to the documentation.