page_title: Maria Martinez
section_title: Description of black ware pottery
hierarchical_section_title: Maria Martinez / Description of black ware pottery
caption_attribution_description: English: Wedding vase by Maria and Julian Martinez (both San Ildefonso Pueblo), matte-on-gloss blackware, ca. 1929, collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum
context_page_description: Maria Montoya Martinez was a Native American artist who created internationally known pottery. Martinez, her husband Julian, and other family members examined traditional Pueblo pottery styles and techniques to create pieces which reflect the Pueblo people's legacy of fine artwork and crafts. The works of Maria Martinez, and especially her black ware pottery, survive in many museums, including the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, and more. The Penn Museum in Philadelphia holds eight vessels – three plates and five jars – signed either "Marie" or "Marie & Julian".
  Maria Martinez was from the San Ildefonso Pueblo, a community located 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. At an early age, she learned pottery skills from her aunt and recalls this "learning by seeing" starting at age eleven, as she watched her aunt, grandmother, and father's cousin work on their pottery during the 1890s. During this time, Spanish tinware and Anglo enamelware had become readily available in the Southwest, making the creation of traditional cooking and serving pots less necessary.
context_section_description: An olla jar has a slightly flattened rim and a marked angle at the shoulder. The one created by Maria and Julian Martinez is characteristic of this type, which is "decorated on the rims only, i.e. above the angle of the shoulder." Light is reflected off of the shiny, smooth surface. The jet black ceramic product's finish appears unblemished in any way. A band of a lighter black decoration stands out against a solid black matte background. This type of pot “depends for decorative effect on the manipulation of surface finish alone” to appear as though the decorations are scratched into the pot's surface. The band wraps directly below the narrow neck of the pot. A wide-eyed avanyu, or horned serpent, encircles the pot and slithers inside the band. The serpent's tongue almost touches the tip of his tail. The snake's body movements seem alive; a tribute to the appreciation the Pueblo peoples have for nature and life. The decorations on the pot give the pot a personality and unique individualized look.
caption: Maria and Julian Martinez matte-on-glossy blackware wedding vase, ca. 1929, collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
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