In the 1950s Maria Martinez created a series of pieces that were simply stone polished with no design.  As she primarily made the pottery and polished it this was fitting with the other pieces of her career.  This open bowl is fully polished on the inside and outside.  It was not uncommon for her to fully stone-polish pieces in this style.  It was fired to a glassy black coloration.  The bowl is signed in the clay, “Maria Poveka”.  This is a combination of her Anglo and Tewa names.  Her name, “Poveka” means “Water Lilly”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  There is an original price tag on the bottom from San Ildefonso Pueblo.  The piece has a date on it from 1963 and has the original price of $35.00.

Maria Martinez Signatures