Tony Da Red Plate with Antelope Image

This brilliantly burnished dish was created by Tony Da, a descendant of Maria Martinez who went on to become one of the most significant pueblo potters. Those who are familiar with Da's work will likely recognize the style of this plate, which places a sgraffito-carved figure in the center of a polished dish, with a pair of framing lines around the rim. This style is popular among today's collectors, and for good reason-these pieces are stylish, timeless, and beautiful.

With this piece, Da created a strong depiction of an antelope. It is positioned in the center of the plate and carved into the polished surface, with an uncarved area passing through the mouth and expanding to form the heartline. Each design element was executed with the incredible precision and style for which Da has been widely recognized, and the dish itself is similarly impressive.

The bottom of the dish is signed DA. It is not dated but sales documentation indicates that it was completed in 1970.

Tony Da (1940-2008) Thun-Phoe-She (Sun Dew) was a San Ildefonso Pueblo artist. In his early years, he experimented in jewelry making and painting. Following a stint in the U.S. Navy, he returned to San Ildefonso in 1964, was fascinated with what ancestors Maria and Popovi were doing and apprenticed himself to his grandmother. Tony drew easily but selectively on his experience with both painting and jewelry. Early on, he worked in the two-tone black-and-sienna style, which his father Popovi Da introduced. Tony moved rapidly into the setting of turquoise into some of his wares, such as lidded vessels, bear fetishes, and elaborate turtle figurines. He also produced magical combinations of clay and wrought silver, as well as pottery inlaid with shell beads, or "heishe". Tony's work is immediately recognizable, and viewers have compared his more complex pieces to such objects as Middle Eastern jewelry boxes and Byzantine reliquaries. Da went on to become enormously successful, and his success was justified by his talent and vision. Today, his pottery ranks among the most valuable Native American artworks.

The Martinez-Da family was fraught with tragedy, especially on the male side. Julian Martinez died prematurely in 1943, at the age of 46 years. He was at the peak of his career. Popovi Da, likewise, died early, in 1971, at the youthful age of 48 years. Tony's pottery career ended abruptly on Friday, April 15, 1982. At the age of about 42 years, he was in a motorcycle accident that precluded his return to pottery making, though he did continue painting. With all of the wonderful artistic creations left to us by these remarkable artists, one can't help but wonder what they would have gone on to do had they been able to create for another ten or twenty years. Tony Da passed away peacefully on the 12th of February 2008 at 67 years of age.

Condition: very good condition.

Provenance: this Tony Da Red Plate with Antelope Image is from the estate of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: The Life and Art of Tony Da by Charles King and Richard Spivey

TAGS: San Ildefonso Pueblo, Popovi Da, Maria, Julian Martinez, pottery, Maria and Julian, utilitarian pottery, Popovi Da began assisting Maria, painting, jewelry, fetishes, jewelry boxes, prehistoric Mimbres culture, ceramics, Tony Da