Native American Acoma Hand-Painted Wedding Vase

The Wedding Vase is an ancient vessel still used in traditional Pueblo wedding ceremonies. One spout of the vessel represents the husband and the other the wife. The looped handle represents the unity achieved with marriage. The space created within the loop represents the circle of life. In the traditional ceremony, the couple drink nectar (prepared by the medicine man) from the spouts to represent the blending of their lives. The pot is a reflection of the ancient rite. This wedding vase was traditionally hand-painted with the Acoma bird on one side and a hummingbird on the opposite side by Keith Joe Sr. from Acoma, NM.