San Ildefonso Pueblo True Gunmetal Firing Jar signed Maria Poveka [SOLD]

When Popovi Da started helping his mom with her pottery, he not only painted designs for her but he fired the pottery as well.  Popovi figured out that if he fired blackware at a higher temperature and for a longer time, the result was what has been called a gunmetal finish.  Popovi Da was the first to do this.  This technique was not as simple as it sounds.  If the pottery was removed from the firing too soon, it came out as regular blackware, if left in the firing too long, it came out over-fired.  Popovi figured out just how hot to make the fire and how long to leave the pottery in the fire.

Many people refer to beautifully-fired blackware as “gunmetal” but most of those are regular blackware.  When one sees a true gunmetal finish, there is no mistaking it for regular blackware.  There are not that many true gunmetal finished vessels available as Popovi did not discover the process until late in his career and, even then, did not fire that many gunmetal-finish vessels.  It was probably safer and easier to fire regular blackware finishes than gunmetal finishes.

This traditional Tewa jar shape made by Maria, from San Ildefonso Pueblo, was fired with a true gunmetal finish, probably in the mid-1960s or perhaps later.  It is absolutely spectacular in every sense.  The form is perfect, the burnishing is perfect and the gunmetal firing is perfect.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  The jar is signed Maria Poveka.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: from the collection of a family from Albuquerque

Reference and Recommended Reading: The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez by Richard L. Spivey, 2003