Black-on-black Wedding Vessel signed Marie [SOLD]

It is not an accepted practice in pueblo culture for individuals to seek fame or to stand out from others of the village.  This attitude seems more relaxed today than it did a hundred years ago when fame began to be bestowed on Maria Martinez.  Maria was very conscious of not seeking fame but it came her way anyway.  She did not sign her earlier pottery partly for that reason.

Maria was encouraged by Museum of New Mexico staff to sign her pottery because demand for her work was growing.  The earlier pieces were simply signed Marie and that seems to have begun around 1923.  Julian painted the designs on this early pottery but his name was not added to the vessels, most likely because pottery was considered “woman’s work.”  It was a couple years later before Maria added his name by encouragement of Kenneth Chapman.

As Maria’s popularity blossomed, she enlisted the help of family members.  Julian was painting designs and assisting in firing, and her sisters were assisting in several ways.  Her youngest sister, Clara, who was deaf, spent her time polishing pottery for Maria and Maria assumed responsibility for her care.  Pottery production became a family affair as such crafts often do in other cultures.  The variation in Maria’s signatures is because Clara signed Maria’s name sometime when polishing a vessel.  Santana, her daughter-in-law, also added Maria’s name to some pottery. 

This San Ildefonso Pueblo wedding vase is signed Marie, an indication that it was made between 1923 and 1925 according to published information.  It displays early designs used by Julian in those days.  The main design appears to be a seed pod of sorts.

Condition: very good condition with some abrasions on the underside of the vessel body, below the design panel.

Provenance: from a family collection from Arlington, Virginia

Reference and Recommended Reading:  The Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez by Richard L. Spivey