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Jar

Creator Name

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Gladys Paquin

Cultural Context

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Ka'waika; Native American; Indigenous; American

Date

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Creation: 20th century

About the Work

Curationist LogoCurationist Object Description

Potter Gladys Paquin is best known for her vividly painted, polychrome ceramic jars in red, black and white. She was adamant in her use of longstanding methods – choosing natural pigments and opting for openair firing – while also innovating in her incorporation of both Laguna (Ka'waika) and Zuni Pueblo designs with her own artistic inspiration. "So much of me goes into the pot," says Paquin, as quoted by researcher Stephen Trimble. "Even my thoughts are in the pot. I have to tell the pot how to be. The stubborn ones I give the okay to be that way."

Brooklyn Museum Object Description
Pottery making in Laguna Pueblo had almost died in the mid-twentieth century when Gladys Paquin began making pots in 1980. Her work brings a fresh, new look to the historic forms and images of her pueblo as she decorates the traditional shaped ollas, bowls and canteens with combinations of original designs inspired by her life. These incorporate Laguna Pueblo motifs with Zuni, the home of her mother. This blending has led to a unique style. Each piece is made entirely from natural materials by hand using traditional methods of clay construction-coil method, decoration -painted using vegetal and mineral pigments and open air firing using cow chips and cedar wood in an outdoor kiln.

Work details

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Title

Jar

Creator

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Gladys Paquin (link to bio), Artist; Ceramicist; Potter
Gladys Paquin, Native American, Ka'waika (Laguna Pueblo), Ka'waika (Laguna Pueblo), born 1936, Maker;
Ka'waika (Laguna Pueblo), Native American, Ka'waika (Laguna Pueblo), Culture

Worktype

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Jar; Pottery; Ceramics
Vessel

Cultural Context

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Ka'waika; Native American; Indigenous; American

Material

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Medium: Mineral pigment, Plant pigment;
Overall: Ceramic
Clay, slip

Dimensions

10 1/2 × 11 × 11 in. (26.7 × 27.9 × 27.9 cm)

Technique

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Pottery technique

Language

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Date

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Creation: 20th century
1993

Provenance

Carll H. de Silver Fund, Oct 14, 1993

Style Period

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Rights

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Creative Commons Attribution
Creative Commons-BY

Inscription

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Location

Laguna, New Mexico, United States

Subjects

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Descriptive Topic: Geometric motif

Topic

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Curationist Contributors

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Reina Gattuso; Jessica Gengler

All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Gladys Paquin, Jar, 1993. Brooklyn Museum. Ceramicist Gladys Paquin decorated her pottery with designs inspired by her Zuni and Laguna (Ka'waika) Pueblo ancestry, as in this polychrome jar. Creative Commons Attribution.

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