Roybal, Tonita – Wide Jar with Checkerboard and Mountain Designs (1920’s)

7"w x 3.5"h

$ 750.00

Tonita Roybal is one of the great innovative names in San Ildefonso pottery.  This is an early piece of her black-on-black pottery from around 1921-3.  It has her earlier style of signature.  The bowl has a sharp shoulder and it is fully polished.  Just above the shoulder is a checkerboard pattern.  Above that is a series of mountain designs that extend down from the rim. The design combines bold painting with the negative space of the highly polished surface.  It was fired to a glossy black coloration.  The bowl is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Tonita”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair. There is an area near the base with missing slip, which was probably from a tag removal.

Early San Ildefonso Pottery Innovators -1920-1940