Maria Martinez
& Popovi
San Ildefonso
Blackware
Bowl
3 1/4"
H x 6 3/4" D
Few craft artists, Native
American or otherwise, can claim worldwide fame and appreciation,
but these accompanied the life of potter Maria Martinez of San
Ildefonso Pueblo New Mexico. Maria Antonia Montoya was born around
1887 and died in 1980.
All her life she lived in
the pueblo and eagerly shared with visitors and her neighbors
and family her passion in being a potter. She became known in
the pueblo as a very talented and creative potter.
Maria and her husband, Julian
(who painted the designs on the pottery after Maria shaped them),
began an artistic collaboration that would last throughout their
lives together. Part of their success came from their innovations
in the style of black-on-black ware
Traditionally the men of the
pueblo do the painting, but women were taught the process and
painted during the times that the men had left the pueblo for
work. Julian replicated and was inspired by many pre-historic
designs. He was fond of many motifs, using ancient symbols in
new combinations. He often painted the avanyu, the horned water
serpent, which he saw as a symbol for the rush of water after
a hard rain, and as a metaphor for the pueblo itself.
For many years, Maria and
Julian produced their pottery together amid raising a family
and carrying out traditional duties for the pueblo. Their children
were taught the importance of the craft, and they participated
in various ways. After Julian's death in 1943, Maria began working
with her daughter-in-law Santana.
Maria signed her pieces several
different ways over the course of her life, and to some extent,
these signatures can help to date her work. At first, she signed
her pots "Marie" because she was told that this name
would be more familiar to those who would buy her work. Through
the years her pieces were signed "Poh ve ka," "Marie,"
"Marie & Julian," "Maria & Santana,"
"Maria Poveka," and "Maria/Popovi."