Pueblo pottery is one of the oldest artisanal traditions in the Americas, representing a continuous transmission of cultural attributes from prehistoric to the modern period. Its exquisite aesthetic characteristics are matchless. One of the strengths of the Pueblo tradition is the ability of more recent artisans to adopt and transform prehistoric decorative designs into contemporary works of art. Ancestral Clay brings to the audience a collection of Pueblo ceramics from the Annette Cravens Collection that features the works of famous pottery-making communities such as the Acoma, Laguna, Tewa, and others.
The exhibition highlights the main decorative styles of the Pueblo ceramics, such as geometric, animal representations, rituals, and so on. It places an emphasis on the relationship between the artists and their ancestral communities – the Mimbres, Hohokam, Anasazi, and others. The exhibit is the culminating effort of the students of the Museum Management course, who spent an entire semester working with the Cravens World Southwestern pottery collection.
Eugen Ruzi, Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology, University at Buffalo curated this exhibition with the graduate students in the Museum Management Seminar.