TriArte - Olla (Jar)

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/147645

unknown Acoma Pueblo
Primary

Olla (Jar)

Historical
Early 20th century

Polychrome clay

height at rim; width at shoulder
10 7/16 in. x 10 5/8 in. (26.5 cm x 27 cm)

Bryn Mawr College

Accession Number: 72.1.8

Geography: North and Central America, United States, New Mexico

Classification: Containers and Vessels; Vessels; Ollas

Culture/Nationality: Pueblo, Acoma

Collection: Twyeffort Collection

With its beautiful and intricate geometric designs, this olla demonstrates the Acoma Pueblo's typical decorative motifs, which usually include continuous angular and curved designs and occasionally large flowers or birds. The Acoma potters, who traditionally are women, may use decoration on their pottery to reflect important aspects of their culture and environment, including fertility, water, earth, weather, and sky.

This form of water jar initially met the practical needs of the Acoma people with its indented base for carrying on the head, but now is a sought-after Native American collector's item. This vessel represents one of many examples of Pueblo pottery in the North American collection at Bryn Mawr College that are used in introductory anthropology courses.

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword

This object has the following keywords:

Acoma*, coiling*, ollas*, Southwestern Native American*

Acoma - Refers to the culture and style of the Acoma, a Native American people living in western New Mexico.
coiling - Pottery technique in which the piece is built up from ropelike coils of clay, without the use of a potter's wheel.
ollas - Large, bulbous, usually wide-mouthed earthenware or woven vessels used for holding water or food or for cooking; may have handles.
Southwestern Native American - Styles and cultures Southwestern Native America.

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

At Home and on Display: Pueblo Pottery in the Bryn Mawr College Collection , 11/24/1998 - 1/15/1999
Distinguished Clay , 5/26/2001 - 6/1/2001
Worlds to Discover: 125 Years of Collections at Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College , 9/24/2010 - 5/28/2011

Bibliography List

The following Bibliography exist for this object:

Marianne Hansen and Emily Croll. Worlds to Discover. Bryn Mawr College. Bryn Mawr, PA, 2010
Page Number: 35

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio

This object is a member of the following portfolios:

Featured Native American Pottery

Southwest

Twyeffort Collection

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/147645 |title=Olla (Jar) |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=3/8/2021 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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Olla (Jar)