WOW!  This is an amazingly intricate jar by Robert Patricio.  He is known for his classic forms and use of both traditional and pre-historic imagery.  This jar is coil built and thin-walled. It has a classic water jar shape with the high shoulder and the elongated neck.  The jar is painted with bee-weed (black) and clay slips.  The use of “four colors” (red, orange, black, white) was typical in Acoma pottery in the late 1800s and then died out only to be revived in the early 1970s.  The jar has large cloud patterns that are on all four sides of the large “diamond” shaped medallion.  Robert said these large sections represent the cornfields and the call for rain.  The thinly painted lines represent the rain.  However, the lines seem to ebb and flow across the entire surface of the piece.  The result is a dynamic appearance as the piece is turned.  It has a balance of both the modern and this ancient.  Robert is certainly one of the leading traditional Acoma potters working today which is evidenced by his stunning forms and complementary designs.  The jar is signed on the bottom, “R. M. Patricio”.  The last photo is one I took of him painting his pottery at his family home at Acoma Pueblo.