Rare San Ildefonso Polychrome Jar by Maria and Julian Martinez

San Ildefonso Polychrome pottery developed from the prevailing pottery of the 1800s defined as Black-on-cream wares which were chiefly storage jars. The addition of red pigment began around 1880. Eventually, design changes were modified to permit an expanded use of red pigment. It is quite likely that these changes were prompted by the arrival of the train to New Mexico in 1880. An additional development occurred around 1905 when the Cochiti Pueblo bentonite cream slip was brought to the attention of potters at San Ildefonso. This slip required only rag polishing rather than the laborious stone polishing of the traditional San Ildefonso cream slip.

Prior to Maria Montoya Poveka Martinez (1887-1980) Pond Lily and Julián Martinez (1885-1943) Pocano - Coming of the Spirits experimenting with improving blackware pottery, they were encouraged to revive the prehistoric Biscuit ware that was being found on the Pajarito Plateau. It is important to emphasize that Maria and Julian's earliest work was in Polychrome which was the prevailing type of the time. This process by Maria and Julian began around 1908.

This small Polychrome jar is typical of the size and shape of the earlier Polychrome pottery that Maria and Julian made at the encouragement of Dr. Edgar L. Hewett, who had begun excavations on the Pajarito Plateau (now Bandelier National Monument). When Maria questioned the need for such small pottery, Hewett said it would be sold to tourists and the money returned to the potters. That was the beginning of sales of San Ildefonso pottery.

This small jar was made around 1910-1920 and was slipped in Cochiti bentonite rag polished slip. A small Polychrome jar with the signature Marie, and decorated by Julian around 1925 features this same curved spiral with three long black triangular protrusions. The minimum use of red in the design is an indication of one of his earlier paintings.

The cream bentonite slip covers the entire exposed body of the jar. The underside was covered in a matte rust colored slip. The rim is red in the tradition of older San Ildefonso pottery. There is a pair of framing lines at the neck, but none at the base of the jar. This is an extraordinary example of Maria and Julian's early Polychrome pottery.

Condition: very good condition with no evidence of repair

Provenance: this Rare San Ildefonso Polychrome Jar by Maria and Julian Martinez is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery

Reference: The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez by Richard L. Spivey

TAGS: Pueblo Pottery, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Popovi Da, Santana and Adam Martinez, Julian Martinez