Maria Martinez (American, San Ildefonso, 1887–1980) and her husband, Julian Martinez (American, San Ildefonso, 1879–1943), were a formidable team. Maria was an expert potter and could burnish clay to a brilliant shine. Julian was an astute designer who painted the pots with a matte slip using designs adapted from rock art and ancient pottery fragments. Together they refined a painting and burnishing technique that, combined with a carbon-rich reductive firing process, resulted in these distinctive black-on-black ceramics. After Julian’s death, Maria continued her work with other family members. Their legacy is part of a continuous pottery-making tradition in San Ildefonso, New Mexico, that involves the collaboration of men and women.
