San Ildefonso Multi-colored Turtle Figurine [SOLD]

Innovation by the small population of potters at San Ildefonso Pueblo is a well-established fact.  Maria Martinez could be the first considered to be a true innovator.  Having been accustomed to producing, with her husband Julian, traditional San Ildefonso Pueblo Polychrome pottery, she easily took to experimenting and producing blackware in the 1920s and 1930s.  Maria's and Julian's son Popovi Da continued the family penchant for innovation when he experimented with sienna ware and inserting turquoise into pottery in the 1960s.  His son, Tony Da, took the whole idea of innovation to the limit when he created his masterpieces of pottery during his short career.

The potter Blue Corn also was an innovator.  After blackware became the predominant pottery production at the pueblo, she singly reintroduced traditional Polychrome wares.  Rose Gonzales introduced the carved pottery style to the pueblo.  TsePe Gonzales may have been the first to introduce green slip to black pottery.  It goes on and on.  I am sure there are others who have slipped my mind at this time.

Today, the indisputable true innovator at San Ildefonso is Russell Sanchez.  An innovator in pottery styles but a traditionalist in pueblo culture and life style.  Russell is a strict disciplinarian when teaching the younger generation the dances and religious customs of the pueblo to the point that he says the young ones fear him and yet respect him.

When making pottery, Russell stretches the envelope to incorporate ideas from his fertile mind.  He says, when some question his strict adherence to tradition in life styles but innovation when it comes to pottery, that his pottery is traditional in every phase of manufacture but contemporary in style and creativity.  There is no conflict. 

This turtle was begun by Sanchez two years ago.  It is the third one he tried and the first of this scale to succeed.  He worked on it slowly, letting his mind mature on it as he selected style, slip, and techniques.  He discovered, by the time he got to this one, how to keep it from destroying in the firing process.  As non-potters, most of us do not realize the talent and knowledge potters must possess to be successful.  Proper clay, proper temper, and proper techniques all contribute to success as do talent and creativity. 

The selection of green and red slips, the finest of turquoise and shell hieshe, and the absolutely beautiful turquoise cabs add immeasurably to the overall appeal of the figurine.  The fan-like designs on the body are traditional San Ildefonso designs from the earlier Polychrome wares.  Just above the neck of the turtle, in the red slip, what appear to be needle-point pricks in the slip actually represent sacred corn meal. 

Turtles have a place in pueblo mythology, as do bears.  In this instance, the bear represents the pueblo people and the turtle is rescuing them, a legend shared by several pueblos.  The inclusion of the bear and the sacred cornmeal design signify the significance of the figurine as a serious traditional item of religious intent rather than simply an art object.  All pueblo items that are considered as art objects by non-natives are considered as religious or ceremonial by pueblo peoples.  From the first step in gathering clay for pottery, the potters thank Mother Earth and offer sacred cornmeal for her giving them the clay.  This thought is carried forth throughout the entire process.  There is no term for art in the native languages.  Pueblo pottery has always carried a religious significance to the potters and still does today even if the size and style do not lean themselves to traditional use as did the older pottery.

This turtle is absolutely flawless and magnificent.  I was overwhelmed when Sanchez brought it to the gallery.  The scale, design, execution and beauty are just beyond belief.  His pride in completing it after two years of work was quite evident when he unwrapped it at the gallery.  Our compliments go to Russell Sanchez for such a monumental object.

Condition: new

Provenance: from the artist

Recommended Reading:  Art of Clay: Timeless Pottery of the Southwest by Lee. M. Cohen