Maria Martinez

Native American
(1887–1980)

Santana Martinez

Native American
(1909–2002)

Plate
1950

Earthenware
1.125 x 6.375 x 6.375 in.
Gift of Richard A. Harrison
1984.1323

María Montoya Martinez is of Tewa heritage from the San Ildefonso Pueblo in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, approximately 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe. Around age eleven, she learned pottery by watching her aunt, Tia Nicolasa, and her grandmother make clay dishes. She quickly became known amongst her peers for her proficiency and precision with clay.

María and her husband, Julian, created a distinctive style that combined glossy and matte textures on a single surface. Their unique black-on-black ware was created from clay and volcanic ash gathered from the land surrounding the Pueblo. They mixed these materials together to make functional objects shaped with traditional gourd tools. Once dried, the surface was polished with a river stone. Julian, an accomplished painter and water colorist, used liquid clay to paint the contrasting matte surface design on tope of the burnished surface.

María and Julian's firing process determined the coloring of the clay. Black coloration is achieved by smothering the flames with dry horse dung, thereby reducing the oxygen in the firing pit. This traps the carbon and blackens the clay body with the smoke. The fire is not smothered for the rich red-brown color.

Billie Sessions, PhD.

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This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Ceramic Case 6: Nature as Inspiration (left) and Maria Martinez (right) , 8/17/2012 - 10/17/2013
• Transcendence: Abstraction & Symbolism in the American West , 9/1/2015 - 12/10/2016
• Collecting on the Edge - Ceramics Southwest , 9/15/2018 - 5/4/2019
• Unearthed , 8/23/2022 - 5/14/2023

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