San Ildefonso Pueblo Small Polychrome Historic Pottery Jar [SOLD]

There are traits of a pottery vessel that sometimes leads one to feel confident that the potter and painter are recognizable.  This jar has several attributes that leads us to say that it was made by Martina Vigil Montoya (1856-1916) and Florentino Montoya (1858-1918). Those attributes on this jar are:

(1) the painted design on the interior of the rim

(2) the alternating black, then red, then black, etc. design layout and

(3) the white slip that continues to the bottom of the jar. 

What prevents us from making a firm attribution is the carelessness of the painting. It does not appear to be of the quality of Florentino’s work. So, there are some positives and one negative but the positives seem to be pretty convincing.

The jar was purchased by the current owner from Robert Nichols Gallery in Santa Fe in 1987 as a circa 1890 San Ildefonso jar.

Condition: very good structural condition with some paint chipping and abrasions

Provenance: from the collection of John Barry, author of American Indian Pottery: An Identification and Value Guide

Recommended Reading: Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico 1700-1940 by Jonathan Batkin

Relative Links: Maria and Julian Martinez, Cochiti Pueblo, Martina and Florentino, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Jonathan Batkin, Southwest Indian Pottery, Toña Peña Vigil, Historic Pottery