San Ildefonso Pottery
Modern appreciation and collecting interest in Native American ceramics can be trace in large part to the artistry of Indian potters at the San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico.
Foremost among these potters was Maria Martinez (1887 to 1980). She and her husband Julian rediscovered — and perfected — the method of creating the famous San Ildefonso blackware pottery. Her work is revered and collected worldwide. For many years Maria created the pottery and Julian painted it but the piece was signed “Marie” or “Marie Poveka”; beginning in the 1930′s the artistry of Julian’s designs was recognized and the works signature changed to “Marie & Julian”.
Perhaps the best pairing of artistic talent at San Ildefonso was pottery made by Maria with her son Popovi Da. Popovi (1921 to 1971) applied amazing designs to Maria’s forms, and was perhaps the best ever at firing pueblo pottery.
Santana Martinez married Maria’s son Adam in 1926. Her aunt, Tonita Roybal, let her help with her polishing work as a young girl and Santana became a potter in her own right after her marriage, learning from both Maria and Julian. An accomplished painter, Santana helped decorate Maria’s work and beginning in the 1940′s pieces began to appear bearing the “Marie & Santana” signature.
Other Martinez potters working at the Pueblo include Marie Anita Martinez and Tony Da. Anita (died 1992) was the daughter of Maria’s son Adam and his wife Santana. She was named for her grandmother and followed in her footsteps, producing blackware pottery with flowing form and clean surfaces. Tony Da (born 1940) is the grandson of Maria Martinez and the son of Popovi Da. Tony is considered the pueblo’s greatest artist of sgraffito work. Only about 500 examples of his pottery are known to exist with no more being produced. His works are often simply signed “DA”.
Other Pueblo potters of note include Blue Corn, who spent her entire life (died 2000) as a potter using traditional materials and methods of construction and special clays and slips she collected in the areas around Black Mesa and Los Alamos; Tonita Martinez Roybal (1892 to 1945), the daughter of fellow potter Dominguita Pino Martinez & the Navajo painter Santiago Martinez, and the mother of potter Margaret Lou Roybal, Tonita worked with her husband Juan from time to time, and reportedly was an instructor to Maria Martinez herself.
Contempory San Ildefonso potters include Dora Tse Pe whose work has been influenced by her mother, Candeleria Gauchupin and Rose Gonzales. Dora’s work has always been in the style of San Ildefonso Pueblo, the Pueblo to which she moved in the 1960s. Often using dual colors, turquoise, and micaceous clays, her work is always dynamic with precise designs and most often signed “Dora of San Ildefonso”. Russell Sanchez is another leading San Ildefonso Potter. Born in 1963, he was influenced early by his aunt, Rose Gonzales, and later by Dora Tse Pe Pena, and uses only traditional methods in forming and firing his pottery, but is well known for his utilization of turquoise, metal leaf, and other innovative materials in crafting his design elements.