eyond the fact that San Ildefonso Pueblo lies Northwest of Santa Fe in the center of Tewa country, its name is synonomous with the pottery of Maria Martinez. Her innovative discovery of matte black (where husband Julian had painted) on polished black (where Maria's carefully rubbed slip still showed) pottery became so popular that the drought ridden, isolated, overlogged, and influenza- desicated pueblo was stabilized by its growing market attention, and carried many of the surrounding pueblos with them.

owever, even with the artistic pull the Martinez family exerted, splendid pottery still required highy skilled craftsmen to take advantage of the expanding market. One such family met the challenge, Rose Gonzales and her son Tse-Pe built their reputations by delicate and textured carvings on the surface of their pots. Along with his two wives, Dora (a Gachupin from Zia) and Jennifer Sisneros (San Juan pottery family) Tse-Pe wandered far afield in his experimentation with odd shapes, double firings, inlays and unusual slips.

lthough there is not a great deal of activity in the Gonzales family today, there are others who have pursued the path of cautious experimentation. While Russell Sanchez and Gilbert Atencio are major figures, others like Elizabeth Lovato and her brother Juan Tafoya have created some of this pueblo's finest and most under-publicized work. Even members of the Martinez family show their experimental touch through the work of Kathy Sanchez, Peter Pino, and Barbara Gonzales, all of whom are Adam and Santana's grandchildren (Maria Martinez's brother and sister-in-law). Such strong traditions and the determination to pass on the technical and spiritual skills necessary to create such impressive pottery is also the foundation for its survival beyond many lifetimes.

Item# 0070P Barbara Gonzales, San Ildefonso.

Sunbeam (Tahn-moo-whe), granddaughter of Santana and Adam of the Maria Martinez Family creates pottery that stays within a traditional framework while creating a contemporary feeling. Although she makes incised pots she has also been making the painted polychrome revived by Popovi Da in the 1950's and 60's. This seed pot is of black color with reddish background behind an elaborate spider web design with spider of turquoise body nearby.

 

Size: 2" high by 2-3/4" diameter.
Price: $985. Mint Condition.
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Size: 3-1/2" high by 3-3/4" diameter.
Price: SOLD Mint Condition.
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Item# 0074PL Marie & Santana, San Ildefonso.

Maria Martinez (Deceased), world famous potter, and her daughter-in-law, Santana Roybal Martinez, created this lovely black on black plate with the old Mimbres radiating feather pattern between 1943-1956. Beyond the beauty of her pottery, Maria's legacy remains the rejuvenation of potterymaking at San Ildefonso and other pueblos.

Size: 2-3/4" high by 12-1/2" diameter.
Price: $9900. Very Good Condition-some abrasion on bottom of plate.
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An outstanding example of the thin walled, matte black on black finish that created world renown for the Martinez Family. This piece was created with her son, Popovi Da, (Deceased), and is signed Maria/Popovi 12/64. The piece is a high shouldered jar form depicting a negative water serpent and rain cloud motifs.

Size: 5" high by 6" diameter.
Price: $11000. Mint condition.
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Made specifically by the renowned potter herself, Maria Martinez (Deceased) created this black pottery of globular shape with her famous gunmetal surface without decoration. Signed Maria Poveka (from within the period of 1956-1965).

Size: 3" high by 3-1/2" diameter.
Price: $2090. Mint Condition.
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Tony Da comes from a long line of illustrious pueblo potters, his father was the inventive Popovi Da and his grandparents the revered Maria and Julian Martinez. Tony drew easily on his experience with both painting and jewelry, making extensive use of turquoise inlay and creating magical combinations of clay, wrought silver, and inlaid shell beads. The pictured pot is of globular form with tapering raised neck bearing sgraffito panels of feather devices and his trade mark inset of turquoise stones with an angular linear frame.

Size: 4-1/2" high by 5-1/2" diameter.
Price: SOLD Very Good Condition.
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