Tonita Roybal remains one of the great innovative names in San Ildefonso pottery.  This jar is a classic shape for Tonita’s pottery with a sharp shoulder and sloping side.  It is painted with two large plant designs separated by rain patterns.  On the plants, the flowers are highlighted with vertical lines.  Overall, the jar is very tightly painted.  It was fired to a silvery, gunmetal coloration.  When Tonita would achieve this color, it was from the intensity of the heat during the firing.  The jar is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair with some wear near the base.  It is signed, “Tonita” in the clay on the bottom.  The signature indicates it is from the mid-1920s.

Early San Ildefonso Pottery Innovators -1920-1940