Highly-Burnished San Ildefonso Black Jar signed Maria Poveka [SOLD]

The signature Maria Poveka on undecorated blackware, according to Richard Spivey, was a signature started in 1956 and abandoned in the mid-1960s, so it lasted only a decade. However, in 1959, Popovi Da started adding a date to the pottery signatures, even those signed Maria Poveka. That fact would shorten the date of undated Maria Poveka pottery to the 1956-1959 dates.

This jar is signed Maria Poveka and does not have a date added to the signature so we must assume it dates to the late 1950s.  This is a superb example of San Ildefonso blackware created by Maria. These undecorated black polished vessels are some of the most beautiful Southwest Indian Pottery made by her. Their beauty is in the shape and burnish, and decoration is unnecessary. Without some of the visual excess of the painted works, these late blackware pieces can be truly appreciated from a more minimal, formalist stance. In this late work, proportion, scale, and excellence of polish are key factors.

Condition: excellent condition

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

Provenance: from a private collection in Albuquerque