Tonita Roybal is one of the great innovative names in San Ildefonso pottery.  This jar by Tonita is from the mid-1920s.  It has a round shoulder and a short neck.  The jar is painted with an unusual design with two sections of lightning, and two sections of rain, clouds, and a mountain.  The style of the painted designs has a very modernist and angular appearance.  It is a striking use of both painted design and negative space. It was fired to a glossy black coloration.  The jar is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tonita”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.

Early San Ildefonso Pottery Innovators -1920-1940