Maria Martinez Gunmetal Pottery Jar, Signed "Marie", ca 1925-30

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Maria Martinez Gunmetal Pottery Jar, Signed "Marie", ca 1925-30:
$6300.00

Offered byAntique American Indian Art, LLC--- AAIA--

Maria Poveka Martinez - San Ildefonso Pueblo

Maria Martinez Gunmetal Pottery Jar

Signed "Marie"

ca 1925-1935

6"h x 5"w

Near Gunmetal finish. One of the thinnest walled jars we have seen for Maria. Likely an earlier example of this early signature.

Excellent Condition

Maria Martinez (1884 - 1980)

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, Tia Nicolasa, and beginning with clay dishes she made for her playhouse, Maria was known as a potter among her peers. In 1908,Dr. Edgar Hewett,New Mexico archaeologist anddirector of the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe,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 broke away from farming to 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 always deeply connected with her pueblo of San Ildefonso, with the traditional life of a tribal member, partaking in tribal ceremonies and religious activities. Although she was successful in Santa Fe selling her pottery, she preferred living in her ancestral home. Maria was very unselfish with her talent, and she gave pottery lessons to other women in her village as well as in to potters inneighboringpueblos, thereby providing a new source of income to many. 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 became so admired for her skill that she was specially invited to the White House four times, and she received honorary doctorates from the University of Colorado and New Mexico State University. She is considered one of the most influential Native Americans of the 20th century.

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Maria Martinez Pottery - The SignaturesMaria Poveka Martinez (1884-1980)is probably the most famous of all pueblo potters. She and her husband, Julian, discovered in 1918 how to produce the now-famous black-on-black pottery and theyspent the remainder of their careers perfecting and producing it for museums and collectors worldwide.Early works by Maria and Julian areunsigned(1918-1923).By 1923, Maria began signingMarieon 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 between1920 and 1925.Pottery made by Maria and painted by Julian between1925 and 1943bears the dual signatureMarie + 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 between1943 and 1954are signedMaria + 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 begansigning 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 piecesMaria - Popovi, and Popovi started putting a date on each piece, probablyaround1959.Maria often made small pieces of pottery without the assistance of her husband, her son, or herdaughter-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 signedMaria Poveka.

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