This is a large straight shoulder Acoma jar by Robert Patricio. This jar has straight sides and a tulip-shaped rim. It is the first time I’ve seen Robert make a rim this complicated.  The jar is painted with a checkerboard pattern that creates cloud and mesa patterns.  There are Acoma birds painted near the neck.  Each bird is painted next to a plant and flower. Robert said that there are small birds at Acoma that have white spots on them and that’s what he tried to replicate with these birds.  Near the base are four heartline deer near the base. The deer alternate between two different colors of red clay.  The jar is wonderfully complex in design and color.  There are two different colors of clay along with the white slip and black-bee-weed to paint the designs.  It is signed on the bottom, “R.  M.  Patricio”.  The jar is a striking extension of his artistry in clay and continuing the amazing Acoma legacy. 

Robert said recently of his pottery:

““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