What is San Ildefonso pottery?
San Ildefonso pottery is one of the best-known art forms of the New Mexico Pueblos because of the famous black-on-black pottery which originated there and which was revived in the nineteen-twenties. Today, they command the respect of worldwide collectors of fine art.
How is San Ildefonso pottery made?
Several techniques set the pottery of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara apart from pottery made in other pueblos. The trademark polished black surface is created by rubbing the still-damp clay with a smooth polishing stone. Sometimes, liquid clay (“slip”) is painted on the surface to create an unpolished matte design.
Why is Santa Clara pottery Black?
Santa Clara pottery is known for its distinctive glossy black or red finishes. To achieve blackware, the potters fire polished vessels in a smothered fire (i.e., a fire with less oxygenation). This firing technique turns the clay of the entire pot black.
What is the black pottery called?
Barro negro pottery (“black clay”) is a style of pottery from Oaxaca, Mexico, distinguished by its color, sheen and unique designs. Oaxaca is one of few Mexican states which is characterized by the continuance of its ancestral crafts, which are still used in everyday life.
Who is famous for their black on black pottery?
Maria Martinez
Black pottery from the Santa Clara Pueblo is among the most well-known in the entire world. Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo is arguably the most well known Potter ever to live. She became famous for the black pottery tradition that is now carried on by artists of the Santa Clara Pueblo.
Where does Maria Martinez live?
New Mexico
Maria Martinez was from the San Ildefonso Pueblo, a community located 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico….Maria Martinez.
| Maria Montoya Martinez Tewa name: Po-Ve-Ka (Water Lily) | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Pottery, Ceramics |
| Movement | San Ildefonso School |
| Spouse(s) | Julian Martinez |
Where is Santa Clara pottery made?
Santa Clara Pueblo pottery is a beautiful and prized art form that is both elegant and timeless. The Santa Clara Pueblo is located on the western side of the Rio Grande River, north of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
How did Maria Martinez become famous?
Maria Martinez (1887-1980) Maria Martinez is undoubtedly one of the best known and most influential Native potters of the 1900s. She became famous for her creative pottery and traveling to museums, World Fairs, and other events throughout her lifetime. Maria learned to make pottery from her aunt Nicolasa Montoya.
Who makes black pottery?
Black pottery has been made at Santa Clara Pueblo for generations. Potters at the pueblo were making many pieces of black pottery in the late 1800s for tourists and nearby households in Santa Fe and Espanola.
How does Maria get her clay to turn black?
But in order to make the blackware pottery that Maria was famous for, the fire was smothered with dry, powdered horse dung. By doing this, the amount of oxygen within the kiln was greatly reduced, therefore creating a reduction atmosphere that caused the color of the pots to turn black.
What makes San Ildefonso Pueblo pottery unique?
San Ildefonso Pueblo is best known for its black-on-black style of pottery made famous by legendary potter Maria Martinez. Along with her husband Julian, Maria pioneered this style that combines matte and polished black surfaces around 1920, drawing upon pottery artifacts being excavated at the time from ancient Pueblo sites.
What is the Pueblo of San Ildefonso famous for?
Each of the 20 Pueblos is famous for art and/or crafts and each has a specialty. Maria Martinez lived in the Pueblo of San Ildefonso and she was famous for creating black pottery. Read and skim the magazine about Maria.
Who are the famous potters of San Ildefonso?
While Maria and Julian excelled as potters and promoters and eventually became world-famous, other potters such as Susana Aguilar, Ramona Gonzales, and Tonita Roybal were vital to the rapidly changing pottery movement. In the 1930’s the pottery of San Ildefonso would change further as a few men married women from other Pueblos.
What kind of pottery does tontonita from San Ildefonso make?
Tonita won first prize for her old-fashioned red San Ildefonso ware, with decorations in black (black-on-red pottery). Her husband, Juan Cruz, runs Julian a close second in decorating pottery.