First posted by C. Dean Wilson 2014

Ako Polychrome was defined by Harlow (1967). This type refers to early matte painted pottery produced at Acoma Pueblo that developed out of earlier glaze ware forms. Ako Polychrome appears to have been produced during a fairly short period (A.D. 1700 to 1760).

The dark gray paste gray is tempered with crushed sherd fragments. Ako Polychrome is characterized by decorations executed both in black and red mineral matte paint. Jars are very well formed and almost sculptural in appearance. The underbody is tall and narrow, but rapidly widens near the bottom third and then gradually narrows into the rim resulting in a mushroom-like shape (Frank and Harlow 1990; Harlow 1973; Lammon and Harlow 2013). The lower portion of the jar is narrow with lower portion is slipped white and painted. Bowls are fairly steep. The lower half of the bowl exterior is slipped red while the upper half is slipped white and painted. Rims are covered with a thin line of red slip. Painted decorations are limited to white-slipped upper body and most commonly represented by feather and key motifs.

References:
Frank, Larry and Francis H. Harlow
1990 Historic Pottery of the Pueblo Indians 1600-1880. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., West Chester Pennsylvania.

Harlow, Francis H.

1967 Historic Pueblo Indian Pottery. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.

1973 Matte Paint Pottery of the Tewa, Keres, and Zuni Pueblos. Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.

Lammon, Dwight P. and Francis H. Harlow
2013 The Pottery of Acoma Pueblo. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.