Black-on-black Jar with Curvilinear Designs signed Marie and Julian [SOLD]

Maria Martinez is known to have had help from her sisters when making pottery.  It is generally agreed that her youngest sister, Clara, polished many, if not most, of Maria’s pottery for her.  Desideria also helped Maria in various ways, and the male members helped gather and work the clay and prepare the outdoor firing kiln.

Maria was from San Ildefonso Pueblo and had a very distinctive signature when writing her and Julian’s names and it varied little, if at all, during her long career.  This jar does not bear the handwriting of Maria.  It does not mean that Maria did not make the jar and that Julian did not paint the design, it only means that another member of the family may have signed the jar with their names because perhaps Maria was occupied with making pottery or entertaining tourists.  The shape of the vessel and the design are typical of Maria and Julian’s work, only the signature is not. The signature is imbedded into the clay so it was applied while the jar was in process of being made and the clay was still damp.

Condition: good condition with only some slight abrasions

Recommended Reading:  The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez by Richard Spivey.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance: from a family collection from Missouri