Traditional Historic Polychrome San Ildefonso Olla [SOLD]

San Ildefonso Pueblo was still a rather remote village at the turn of last century when Tesuque and San Juan were gaining attention for their pottery because they were more accessible and the potters were providing pottery to Santa Fe traders. As a result of its isolation, changes brought on by the demands of the traders did not affect the style of pottery being produced at San Ildefonso.

Martina Vigil (1856-1916) and her husband Florentino Montoya (1858-1918) have been brought to prominence by author Jonathan Batkin in an article in American Indian Art Magazine. Other San Ildefonso potters of the early 1900s publicized by Batkin are Tonita Pena, Marianita Roybal, Dominguita Pino, and Dolorita Vigil. These 5 prominent potters, along with Maria Martinez, were the most famous at the pueblo.

Dolorita Vigil had a short life, dying during the influenza epidemic of 1918, at age 35. She did, however, leave her mark. She was an exceptional potter. She was a niece of Martina Vigil and was influenced by the work of her aunt. Her painted designs are strongly reminiscent of Florentino’s.

Dolorita applied the white slip to the full body of the jar, not leaving an area of the underbody in an unslipped state as other potters of the period were doing. Another trait of her ollas is the strong shift in curvature of the mid-body bulge and the sharp outwardly thrust of the rim. Her designs are easily confused with those of Florentino’s, but her vessel shapes are not similar to those of Martina.

This jar evidences closely the work of Dolorita as compared to vessels shown in a photograph of her circa 1915. The continuous white slip over the entire vessel, the mid-body shape and the rim are very similar to those in the photograph. (See American Indian Art Magazine, Autumn 1987, page 33.)

This jar is in excellent condition. A previous owner had used it as a lamp base, but no damage occurred from that use. A hole for the electric cord in the bottom of the jar was filled in after removal of the lamp hardware. Fortunately no damage occurred to the jar.

Reference and Recommended Reading: Martina Vigil and Florentino Montoya: Master Potters of San Ildefonso and Cochiti Pueblos, by Jonathan Batkin. American Indian Art Magazine, Autumn 1987.