Box and lid

Inscriptions

Marks: Signed "Marie" on base. Paper label attached: "San Ildefonso ......Marie 3.00"

Label

Native women potters have long been innovators of method and form; this holds especially true of Puebloan ceramics. Maria Martinez gained international recognition in the early 20th century for her perfection of blackware pottery and for creating the black-on-black design technique together with her husband, Julian Martinez. While her artistic practice and fame grew, she continued to draw from the techniques of her predecessors. Mother-and-daughter ceramicists Vangie Tafoya and Helen Tafoya Henderson, relatives of Maria Martinez, continue to experiment with design, contributing to the legacy of creativity for which San Ildefonso Pueblo is known. These works merge both abstraction and realism in their own unique ovoid forms.

From the 2022 exhibition Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, curated by Dillen Peace '19, Native American Art Intern and Sháńdíín Brown '20, Native American Art Intern 

Course History

NAS 30.21, Native American Art and Material, Jami Powell, Spring 2021

ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022

Writing Program 5.24, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Writing Program 5.25, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2023

Exhibition History

Survival/Art/History: American Indian Collections from the Hood Museum of Art, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 18, 2000-April 7, 2002.

Unbroken: Native American Ceramics, Sculpture, and Design, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 2022-March 12, 2023.

Provenance

Collected by a friend, in the southwest 1930's; given to Victor R. and Elizabeth J. King, Plainfield, New Jersey; given to present collection, 1985.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects