Picuris Pueblo Micaceous Pottery Bean Pot by Ramita Martinez [SOLD]

It has been determined that beans cooked in micaceous pottery vessels on top of a stove burner or over an open flame are unbeatable for flavor.  A restaurant in Santa Fe serves beans cooked in that manner and they sell micaceous bean pots too.

It does not appear that this one was ever used.  The previous owner purchased this in the mid-1940s and stored it wrapped in paper, never even displaying it.

This micaceous pottery bean pot was purchased by the previous owner from the potter at Picuris Pueblo so its provenance is clearly defined.  It is often difficult to distinguish between micaceous pottery from Taos Pueblo and Picuris Pueblo, so it is reassuring when the potter is known from whom it was purchased.

"In the summer of 1958 the School of American Research, acting as agent for the Museum of New Mexico, funded a material culture survey at Taos and Picuris Pueblos. Documentary materials pertaining to the survey include photographs of Ramita Martinez and Lena Archuleta making pots, and illustrations of vessels collected from Lucita Martinez and Virginia Duran. One series of vessels, made by Ramita Martinez and decorated by her husband, Juan Jose Martinez, is indicative of the kind of experimentation that was taking place. A photograph of Juan Jose's tool kit indicates that he was using beer can openers and broken files, along with an assortment of bolts, nails, and screws, to produce tool-impressed designs on his wife's pottery." Anderson,1999:51

Condition: this Picuris Pueblo Micaceous Pottery Bean Pot by Ramita Martinez is in original condition

Provenance: from the estate of Tom Dickerson, former potter and lifetime resident of Santa Fe, and avid collector of Native arts.

Recommended Reading: People of the Hidden Valley: Guide Book to Picuris Pueblo (San Lorenzo), New Mexico fasdfdas

Reference: Anderson, Duane. All That Glitters: The Emergence of Native American Micaceous Art Pottery in Northern New Mexico, 1999

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Picuris Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery, Ramita Martinez, Taos Pueblo