Acomita Polychrome Jar

with concave base, globular body and vertical neck, painted in brown and orange against a cream slip, with capped spiral designs beneath a scalloped band.

Collected by Colonel James Stevenson in 1879-80 for the Bureau of American Ethnology, no. 110234 and illustrated in the accession book

Given or traded to Dr. James M. Kober, Dean of the College of Medicine, Georgetown University about 1900-1920

Acquired from Christopher Selser, Santa Fe, NM in 1987

Lanmon and Harlow, 2013, The Pottery of Acoma Pueblo, fig. 6.23

Broken in several pieces; part missing; exterior restored partly.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For more information on Colonel James Stevenson please see Neil M. Judd, The Bureau of American Ethnology: A Partial History, 1967, pp. 11, 12, 19, 20, 56, 63, 64, 66, 67.

Colonel Stevenson, an old time survey man, was employed by the Bureau of Ethnology in 1879, after serving several years as a member of Dr. F. V. Hayden's United States Geological Survey of the Territories. It was during this period that he became acquainted with the Indians of the Dakotas and Northern Rockies. When Hayden's explorations were discontinued in 1879, Stevenson was named executive officer of the new Geological Survey, and soon thereafter was detailed for research in connection with the Bureau of Ethnology.

That first year, at the direction of Major Powell, the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, Colonel Stevenson was sent to the Southwest on an exploring expedition along with Frank Hamilton Cushing of the Smithsonian Institution, J. K. Hillers, the survey photographer, and others, to study at Zuni Pueblo. Fascinated with his first glimpses of the Southwest, Stevenson permanently transferred his interest in Indian languages and customs from the Dakotas and Blackfoot to the Pueblos.

In subsequent years Stevenson typically departed on his explorations from Fort Wingate, escorting Victor and Cosmos Mindeleff, the surveyors and explorers, to Canyon de Chelly and the various Hopi Villages, and Cushing on his travels throughout the region. Stevenson was credited with naming Canyon de los Muertos, the northwest branch of Canyon de Chelly, on the strength of two desiccated bodies he found there.

Stevenson disliked writing, and left this tedious task to his wife. Nevertheless, he compiled three lengthy catalogs of specimens collected in New Mexico and Arizona, and wrote a short but informative paper on Navajo sand painting (Judd, 1967).

For a comparable see Sotheby's New York, May 2007, lot 81.