Image Missing: Hearst Museum object titled Stirrup spout jar, accession number 2-71372, described as Mountain Ute spout and bridge ceramic vessel. Probably made in the late 1980s. Jar, stirrup-spout with two spouts, handle between; decorative band of black stepped designs on gold, white ground. Wheel-thrown, ceramic, painted decoration. Label text from 1992 exhibition "Too Good to be True: Fakes, Forgeries and Replicas from Anthropological Collection": ANCIENT PERUVIANS IN COLORADO? —A contemporary Mountain Ute (Colorado) pottery vessel may have been influenced by an ancient Peruvian ceramic tradition. There is nothing inherent in this Mountain Ute vessel to suggest that it represents a long indigenous ceramic tradition. Indeed, if the vessel were not marked "Mt. Ute" on the bottom, one would never attribute it to a North American Indian group. Clearly, the potter/artist either had access to a Nasca spout and bridge jar or was influenced by an illustration of one in a book. —According to a small publication put out by the Mountain Ute (Ute Mountain Pottery Designs, 1977), "The art produced is unique to this tribe. Although the designs may be similar to that of related Indian groups, their originality lies in their independent conception by the artists of the Ute Mountain Pottery. The art is drawn from the contours and colors of their land and past. The temperament and mood of these people, fashioned by the necessity of living directly from the earth, is reflected in each item.