Adobe Gallery Blog
San Ildefonso Black-on-black Wedding Vessel signed Marie - C3812A
It is not an accepted practice in pueblo culture for individuals to seek fame or to stand out from others of the village. This attitude seems more relaxed today than it did a hundred years ago when fame began to be bestowed on Maria Martinez. Maria was very conscious of not seeking fame but it came her way anyway. She did not sign her earlier pottery partly for that reason.
Maria was encouraged by Museum of New Mexico staff to sign her pottery because demand for her work was growing. The earlier pieces were simply signed Marie and that seems to have begun around 1923. Julian painted the designs on this early pottery but his name was not added to the vessels, most likely because pottery was considered "woman's work." It was a couple years later before Maria added his name by encouragement of Kenneth Chapman.