Maria Martinez Pottery Bowl – Beautiful! Black On Black San Ildephonso Pueblo, NM Pottery. Height 3 5/8; Inner Diameter of Rim 4 3/4; Base 3; Largest Diameter of Bowl about 6 1/4. Low, rounded bowl with large opening; with black matte paint of insect motif. Has surface damage consistent to water damage; crackling of surface, particularly on the lower body; Signature readable. Please look at pictures carefully for condition details. The number on the bottom is the accession number from the museum and written on white nail polish in ink. This item is cross-posted. The sale of this item benefits a local museum. Please see other items for sale in my Countryside Consign Online Shop. Of Tewa heritage of the San Ildefonso Pueblo in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, Maria Martinez became world-renowned for her black-on-black pottery. Learning to make pots as a child from her aunt, Maria was known as a potter among her peers. Edgar Hewett, New Mexico archaeologist, had excavated some 17th century black pottery shards and, seeking to revive this type of pottery, Hewett was led to Maria. Through trial and error, Maria rediscovered the art of making black pottery. She found that smothering a cool fire with dried cow manure trapped the smoke, and that by using a special type of paint on top of a burnished surface, in combination with trapping the smoke and the low temperature of the fire resulted in turning a red-clay-pot black. Maria, who made but never painted the pottery, collaborated with her husband Julian, who not only assisted in the gathering of the clay and the building the fire, and, most importantly, painting the motif on the pottery. Julian painted Maria’s pottery until his death in 1943. During the early years of pottery making, Julian became a janitor at the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe. It was here that he and Maria studied the pottery in the display cases, observing form, motif and technique. Maria was very unselfish with her talent, and she gave pottery lessons to other women in her village as well as in to potters in neighboring pueblos. After her husband’s death, she worked with her sons, Popovi Da and Adam, and her daughter-in-law, Santana in continuing her work throughout her life. Maria Martinez Pottery – The Signatures. By 1923, Maria began signing Marie on pieces made by her and Julian. His name was omitted because making pottery was woman’s work. Pottery made by Maria and painted by Julian, signed Marie, was most probably made between 1920 and 1925. Pottery made by Maria and painted by Julian between 1925 and 1943 bears the dual signature Marie + Julian. By 1925, and until his death in 1943, Maria shared the signature with Julian. Following the death of Julian, their son Adam and his wife Santana helped Maria with the design and firing of her pottery. Pieces made between 1943 and 1954 are signed Maria + Santana. When Maria began signing pottery, she was told, probably by Chapman, that Marie was a more familiar name than Maria to the non-Indian public. She therefore signed the name Marie for about 30 years. Following the publication of Alice Marriott’s book, Maria: The Potter of San Ildefonso, she began signing her true name, Maria. Around the mid-1950s, Popovi Da began working with his mother, helping her with designing and firing her pottery. They began to co-sign pieces Maria – Popovi , and Popovi started putting a date on each piece, probably around 1959. Maria often made small pieces of pottery without the assistance of her husband, her son, or her daughter-in-law. These are always highly polished, un-decorated pieces and are usually quite spectacular and graceful and exhibit the true nature of her genius. They are signed Maria Poveka. So naturally, they may have minor cosmetic flaws, loss of sheen or some usage marks, unless otherwise noted. So please read all item descriptions carefully and review pictures thoroughly before purchasing. I cannot be held responsible for this. I recycle packaging materials when I can safely and securely do so. Therefore, packing materials may appear gently pre-used. The item “Vintage c 1925 Maria Martinez Pottery Bowl Signed Marie Rare Insect Motif” is in sale since Tuesday, May 21, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Native American\ US\1800-1934\Pottery”. The seller is “countrysidecoshop” and is located in Wheeler, Michigan. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Uruguay.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Artisan: Maria Martinez
- Provenance: Ownership History Not Available
- Tribal Affiliation: San Ildefonso Pueblo
