She-we-na (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Water Jar (Tai-lai)</em>, 1868-1933. Ceramic, pigment, 12 1/4 x 15 in. (31.0 x 38.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5249. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 04.297.5248_04.297.5249_SL3.jpg)

She-we-na (Zuni Pueblo). Water Jar (Tai-lai), 1868-1933. Ceramic, pigment, 12 1/4 x 15 in. (31.0 x 38.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5249. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 04.297.5248_04.297.5249_SL3.jpg)

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Why did the curator put these objects together?

The views shared by many Americans around the centennial towards Native Americans people, contrasted with actual works made by Natives, are being highlighted here. Many people regarded natives as "Noble Savages" that were disappearing and wanted to capture and preserve that legacy.

In actuality, Native American culture was alive and well. Some people continued to lived in traditional ways on tribal lands and others moved into cities and lived like "typical Americans."

Thank you!

You're welcome! You'll notice that many of the works in this room date to the 1870s. 1876 was the United States' Centennial celebration so it was a time of reflection -- what was America all about? How was national identity represented in visual art?

Water Jar (Tai-lai)

Arts of the Americas

NATIVE AMERICAN PUEBLO POTTERY
Pottery making was practiced in the southwestern United States for at least two thousand years. Zuni and Cochiti potters created the three vessels here: two water jars and one drum jar, which would have had a hide stretched over the top for beating with drumsticks. Historically, women were the potters, collecting their own clays, coiling and finishing each pot by hand, and firing the pieces in open fires.

Pots were often traded and exchanged between pueblos, so that new ideas were constantly being generated. During the 1880s the advent of the railroad brought an influx of trading posts and tourists into the Southwest and entrepreneurial potters began selling to the non-Native market. Today, both male and female potters continue to form traditional works as well as generate exciting new forms of Pueblo pottery.

CULTURE She-we-na (Zuni Pueblo)

MEDIUM Ceramic, pigment

DATES 1868-1933

DIMENSIONS 12 1/4 x 15 in. (31.0 x 38.0 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 04.297.5249

CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION She-we-na (Zuni Pueblo). Water Jar (Tai-lai), 1868-1933. Ceramic, pigment, 12 1/4 x 15 in. (31.0 x 38.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund, 04.297.5249. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 04.297.5248_04.297.5249_SL3.jpg)

IMAGE group, 04.297.5248_04.297.5249_SL3.jpg.

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why did the curator put these objects together?

In actuality, Native American culture was alive and well. Some people continued to lived in traditional ways on tribal lands and others moved into cities and lived like "typical Americans."

Thank you!

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Water Jar (Tai-lai)

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