San Ildefonso Polychrome Bowl by Maria and Julian [SOLD]

San Ildefonso Pueblo was a pottery producing pueblo when the Spaniards arrived in the late 1500s.  Pottery was a necessity for daily life.  The earliest recording of the styles of pottery being produced was by James Stevenson in 1880 in which he described black-on-cream and black-on-red.  No mention of polychrome wares at that time although it is believe it may have begun as early as 1875.  Spivey, 2003

Maria and Julian began their career in earnest around 1908 when Maria showed interest in pottery being excavated on the Pajarito Plateau.  It was black-on-cream wares but when Julian started reproducing designs from those shards, he did so in polychrome, the predominant style at the pueblo at that time. 

Julian’s designs on early polychrome pottery were greatly influenced by designs on biscuit ware shards being excavated.  He and other men from San Ildefonso were hired as diggers during the excavations so he was there to see the shards first hand.  He did not copy the prehistoric designs but used them for inspiration.  One of the most famous of his early designs is obviously based on one of the biscuit ware bowls excavated in which he placed a triangle in the bottom center of the bowl similar to one in this bowl.

This polychrome bowl is the work of Maria and Julian.  His designs on this bowl are seen on other examples of his work.  Division of the design into thirds is well documented in other bowls.  The “buffalo heads” sport black tipped feathers, the diamond is an influence from biscuit ware shards and the geometric and curvilinear elements are seen in both polychrome and later blackware designs by him.  Julian was a very talented artist and created some of the most exciting polychrome designs early in his career. 

The bottom of the bowl is red and that continues up and over the rim.  Just below the rim is a pair of thin black framing lines.  The cream slip is Cochiti slip which would date the bowl to shortly after 1905, perhaps 1910 or 1915.  There is a fabric label attached to the underside with a hand logo which I have seen before but do not recall what gallery used that logo.  On the label is written Marie – Julian.

Condition:  structurally in excellent condition.  There is a very small divot on top of the rim visible as a thin white spot.  It is not a crack but is a nick into the clay.

Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman in New York

Recommended Reading: The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez by Richard L, Spivey.