vase with Avanyu design, Julian Martinez; Maria Martinez

Archive Label 2003: This wife-and-husband team collaborated on their pottery vessels at San Ildefonso Pueblo. María formed and polished the elegant pots and vases, and Julián applied the painted decoration. Julián’s matte black decorations on María’s polished black surfaces became internationally known as “San Ildefonso Black-on-Black.” The simplicity of the clean geometric designs is well suited to the shape of the vessels. Avanyu, the horned serpent on this vase, is a Pueblo reptile who was believed to live in the water below the earth and assisted humans by carrying them through the waters of change. Julián frequently used Pueblo, and even Hopi, design motifs in his decoration; Avanyu was one of his favorites. Exhibition Label: American Indian Art at the Spencer Museum Sept 6 - Oct 19-2003 Maria and Julian Martinez were pioneers in the twentieth-century revival of Pueblo pottery. Although they often worked in the traditional San Ildefonso tan clay with red and black designs, in about 1919 they developed a characteristic black-on-black pottery for which they became renowned. This tall jar is decorated with one of their characteristic images, an abstracted serpent that encircles its neck. The image is revealed through the use of matte and polished slip.