Rainbow Macaw And Floral Motifs: Linguistic Analysis

Within the recent adventure to the AIC, there was one piece that wholly struck out with great interest which demanded to be analyzed. That piece was the Polychrome Jar with Rainbow Macaw and Floral Motifs (Ascension Number: 2006.749), which was done by an Acoma Pueblo artist with no given name, in New Mexico during the 1880s. The piece on its own merit features a wide variety of floral designs as well as some birds in either in flight or sitting. Around the piece itself, there are some smaller and larger pieces of pottery that have different types of floral motifs and patterns with very earthy colors. This piece is very much representative with the fertility of crops and the Acoma Pueblo people which placed heavy spiritual emphasis on birds
With the floral elements, it mostly features scarlet to yellow chromatic themes that somewhat imitate each other. Yet these themes are also found on the curved structures above the macaws, and on the macaws themselves. Specifically, the colors on the macaws’ beaks and feet which are the same as the leaves; which also connects the outline of the macaw to the floral variety. The use of the outline on the macaw and no outlines on the pollinating portions of the flora can indicate that the artist meant place significant emphasis of power and importance that the macaws have. It is also important to note that on the large yellow macaw, there is evidence of depth and shadow on the back wing, which imitates three dimensional objects thus signifying further that the macaws have more importance. On the behalf of archaeological and anthropological research done over several decades, such a conclusion has been found extremely viable and
The jar itself is larger than most of the other pieces that were surrounding it in the museum, yet this one had one of the largest openings. When one looks at it from above at an angle slightly, it can be seen that the piece has opening that appears to be composed of a darker material than the rest of the jar. In the most utilitarian form, this would be useful for material out of the jar, thus it may have been for storage for various food items for the long terms such as beans, spices, or some grains like maize. This can be especially true due to the curvature of the jar extends upwards with a wide approach and curves once more inwards somewhat sharply, which could benefit it against mammalian pest from reaching the inside contents. However, in analyzing the materials and environmental influences, there are some key features that overlooked by the naked eye. These pieces are not glazed as most accommodated pottery in the Old World, rather it utilizes this hardened clay with micro-pores to keep the water cool by “sweating” (Saunders 1912, 222). This is further understood since the civilizations which occupied these spaces had very few sources of water, which were mainly basins and the interconnecting rivers which ran through the numerous canyons. Oddly enough, this piece relates similarly to the structures of the Kiva architecture,