Picuris Pueblo Micaceous Clay Pottery Pitcher by Ramita Martinez [SOLD]

This beautiful thin-wall micaceous pottery pitcher was made by Ramita Martinez of Picuris Pueblo and purchased from her in the 1950s by the previous owner. It is definitive to say that this is a Picuris Pueblo vessel.  Micaceous vessels are also being made by Northern Apache potters as well as Hispanic potters of New Mexico. For one who wants a sample vessel from each pueblo, this is one to consider.

“In the summer of 1958 the School of American Research, acting as agent for the Museum of New Mexico, funded a material culture survey at Taos and Picuris Pueblos.  Documentary materials pertaining to the survey include photographs of Ramita Martinez and Lena Archuleta making pots, and illustrations of vessels collected from Lucita Martinez and Virginia Duran.  One series of vessels, made by Ramita Martinez and decorated by her husband, Juan Jose Martinez, is indicative of the kind of experimentation that was taking place.  A photograph of Juan Jose’s tool kit indicates that he was using beer can openers and broken files, along with an assortment of bolts, nails, and screws, to produce tool-impressed designs on his wife’s pottery.”   Anderson,1999:51

Micaceous pottery is made by potters at Taos and Picuris Pueblos.  It is virtually impossible to distinguish between the pottery from the two so it is quite positive for a collector to know that a particular pottery vessel was made by a potter known to be from Picuris Pueblo.

Taos and Picuris people speak Tiwa as do those from Isleta Pueblo.  The two most northern and the most southern pueblos share a language.  Picuris was overlooked by the Smithsonian during its many expeditions to the Southwest in the late 1800s. No pottery was collected from there.  

The 2010 census estimated that 68 people lived in the pueblo while 267 people in the U.S. reported being of the tribal group Picuris alone and 439 reported being of the tribal group Picuris alone or in combination with other groups. Picurís Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos. Their own name for their pueblo is P'įwweltha, meaning "mountain warrior place" or "mountain pass place." They speak a dialect of the NorthernTiwa language, part of the Kiowa-Tanoan language family.

Condition: this Picuris Pueblo Micaceous Clay Pottery Pitcher by Ramita Martinez is in very good condition

Provenance: from the estate of Tom Dickerson, former potter and lifetime resident of Santa Fe, and avid collector of Native arts.

Recommended Reading: People of the Hidden Valley: Guide Book to Picuris Pueblo (San Lorenzo), New Mexico

Reference: Anderson, Duane. All That Glitters: The Emergence of Native American Micaceous Art Pottery in Northern New Mexico, 1999

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Pottery, Picuris Pueblo, Contemporary Pottery, Ramita Martinez, Taos Pueblo