San Ildefonso Pueblo Pottery Jar By Maria and Julian

ca. 1938

5.125" H x 6.625" D

Hand Coiled Black on Black Jar with Glossy and Matte Geometric Design on Upper Neck Signed Maria & Julian

In Very Good Condition

Maria Martinez (1887–1980) and her husband Julián (1879–1943) were Tewa artists from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, who transformed Pueblo pottery from a functional craft into a celebrated fine art form. Their most famous innovation is the black-on-black pottery technique, perfected around 1918–1920 after they were inspired by ancient shards found during archaeological excavations at nearby Pajarito Plateau. While Maria was a master at hand-coiling and stone-polishing the clay into perfectly symmetrical vessels, Julián was a skilled painter who decorated them with matte designs using a liquid clay slip.