Appleleaf, Martha Fender – Black-on-Red Bowl with Avanyu

Martha Appleleaf learned to make pottery from her mother, Carmelita Vigil Dunlap. Today she continues to create distinctive pottery with traditional designs.  This is a round bowl that is slipped with mica mixed with red clay slip.  It is painted around the shoulder with an avanyu. The style is called “black-on-red” and it was seen at San Ildefonso Pueblo in the 1880s to the early 1900s.  This bowl, while not using the same clay slips, is inspired by this style.  There is a photo of the bowl with a San Ildefonso Black-on-red jar from around 1900 as the last photo.  The bowl is signed on the bottom, “Marth Appleleaf”.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.