Maria Martinez has long been established as the matriarch of contemporary San Ildefonso pottery. She, along with her husband Julian, rediscovered the method of creating black finished pottery, building upon their exposure to shards and pots excavated by early archaeologists. Maria excelled at creation, slipping, and polishing their pots. Julian, followed by their daughter-in-law Santana and son Popovi, painted the designs on the pot. The particular signatures date the creation of the pot, thus enabling us to determine that this jar was made by Maria and Santana between 1943 and 1954.

Maria and her family are renowned for achieving a "gunmetal" finish. The pot is fired outdoors in a traditional manner and then smothered with a combination of materials at the "perfect" moment. This finish is very difficult to achieve. Works with this finish are rare.

We are fortunate to have two pots with gunmetal finish currently in our inventory. To see the other gunmetal Maria Martinez jar, please click this link:

http://www.marcyburns.com/pottery-collection/san-ildefonso-gunmetal-bowl

In addition, we have a beautiful early black on black jar signed Maria + Santana. Click this link to learn about this pot:

http://www.marcyburns.com/pottery-collection/san-ildefonso-black-on-black-jar-signed-marie-santana