This is an early plate by Maximiliana “Anna” Martinez.  She was a sister of Maria Martinez.   It is coil-built and stone polished on the front and back.  The center has a hatchure sun design along with rain patterns.  There are additional bird wings.  The piece is painted with thin lines and has an elegant and fluid pattern.  Anna was often considered one of the best painters on pottery at San Ildefonso in the early 1900s.  This style of imagery is a distinctive variation and part of the creativity of the “new” black-on-black style in the 1920s.  Don’t forget that the first black-on-black fired piece was only exhibited in 1920 in Santa Fe, so it was new for the potters of San Ildefonso.  As well, “plates” in this style only began to be made around 1925.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Anna”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.