Plate with Feather Motif

Maria MartinezWW-1943-130437

1943·Earthenware and slip·5.1 × 38.1 cm (2 × 15 in.)

<p>San Ildefonso pottery Maria Martinez accommodated the tastes of the wealthy collectors and tourists in new productions based on traditional methods and forms, but also contemporary in appearance. Her distinctive black pots, which resulted from experiments with firigin and glazes, attracted many collectors, and soon she and her husband, Julian, produced the famous black-on-black ware almost exclusively.<br>— Revised from J. Barter, Window on the West (2003), pg. 129</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1943
Medium: Earthenware and slip
Dimensions: 5.1 × 38.1 cm (2 × 15 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Maria Martinez

Artist

Maria Martinez

Mixed Media

Maria Martinez was an American potter born in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, who revived and refined the blackware ceramic tradition of her community. Working in hand-coiled clay without a wheel, she developed a distinctive polished black-on-black technique that became synonymous with Pueblo pottery of the twentieth century. Her vessels, characterized by matte and burnished surfaces and subtle geometric forms, established a new standard for indigenous ceramic practice and influenced generations of potters across the Southwest.

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