This is an old-style water jar by Robert Patricio.  He is known for his use of both traditional and pre-historic imagery.  This jar is coil-built using Acoma clay and thin-walled.  The jar is painted with bee-weed and clay slips. The jar is an elegant shape with a high shoulder and short neck.  There are three bands of rainbows as the design. Separating them are two rows of mesa designs and thin-line rain designs.  The jar is highly detailed and the design is fluid across the surface.  Robert said the jar is entitled, “Ancient Rainbows” as he wanted to depict the idea that every generation at Acoma sees the rainbows from the mesas.  The deep solid colorations of the red and orange are striking!  Robert is certainly one of the leading traditional Acoma potters working today, as evidenced by his stunning forms and complex designs.  The jar is signed on the bottom, “R. M. Patricio”.

““The pottery inspires me to keep going.  Keeping the tradition alive in making pottery, that’s how we were brought up.  Our ancestors started making pottery.  It’s amazing what comes of a piece of clay. When you come to Acoma it’s peacuful and quite.  When you look a piece of pottery, you see the same peacefulness.”   Robert Patricio, 2020