Rare Ceramic Vessel Finds A Home At Utah State University

A rare, gray-on-black ceramic vessel created by noted Puebloan potter Maria Martinez has been donated to the Museum of Anthropology at Utah State University. The gift was presented by Logan resident Geniel Loveless.

“Mrs. Loveless acquired the famed potter’s vessel more than a decade ago from her dear friend Hattie Morrell,” said Sara Lundberg, museum coordinator. “When Ms. Morrell moved to a nursing home, she asked Mrs. Loveless to give the pot to another friend, someone possibly related to Maria. Mrs. Loveless spent months searching, but could not find the intended recipient. After Ms. Morrell’s death, Mrs. Loveless stored the vessel in her own home while she continued to search for the intended recipient.”

 

The search was unsuccessful, so Loveless began exploring the possibility of donating the vessel to an institution on behalf of her friend.

 

In April 2005, the Museum of Anthropology and the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art held an opening for two jointly produced, long-term exhibits. One focused on the art and life of Maria Martinez and the other on the relationship between Martinez and her San Ildefonso Pueblo (New Mexico) community.

 

“When Mrs. Loveless read about the opening in a thoroughly researched and beautifully photographed Cache Magazine article [May 6, 2005], she noticed that her friend’s vessel closely resembled Maria’s artwork,” Lundberg said. “A visit to the exhibits confirmed her suspicion that this must be a genuine ‘Maria,’ and she left feeling certain she had found the perfect venue to honor Ms. Morrell.”

 

In the fall of 2005 the Museum of Anthropology accepted the vessel on behalf of both Loveless, a long-time local children’s librarian, and her friend, Morrell (1902-1989), a respected Logan school teacher.

 

Judging by the pot’s classic “Maria and Santana” signature, the donated vessel dates to 1950 and was jointly created by Maria Martinez and her daughter-in-law, Santana. Martinez formed the pot and Santana painted the design and helped fire it. Martinez often worked with family and community members so they could benefit from her established reputation and fame by, for example, commanding higher prices for their work.

 

Lundberg, who was student member of “Team Maria” during the exhibit planning and opening, said this vessel is both artistically distinctive in pattern, and representative of the painting style of Santana Martinez. The form is classic “Maria,” she said.

 

“Santana’s use of organic, flowing shapes and subtle geometric forms, represent a unique combination of abstract and traditional Puebloan motifs,” Lundberg said.

 

“This generous donation represents an important piece by an important artist,” said museum director Bonnie Pitblado. “It is a wonderful addition to the exhibit still featured in the Museum of Anthropology.”

 

Martinez brought native pottery into the mainstream in the first half of the 20th century, popularizing it with a national — even international — audience. For example, her work was showcased at the 1934 World’s Fair in San Diego, and in that same year Martinez became the first woman — and second person — to receive a bronze medal from the “Indian Fire Council.”

 

Her artistry is of interest to anthropologists, in part, because she began with traditional pottery-making technology and motifs that her Hisatsinom (Anasazi) ancestors used, then modernized them, Pitblado said.

 

“Maria Martinez  virtually single-handedly initiated a shift in public perception of Native American pottery as ‘craft,’ to clay vessels as ‘fine art,’ in the spirit of the most talented European painters,” Pitblado said.

 

The museum invites the public to visit the exhibit and its new centerpiece vessel — along with several other San Ildefonso style pieces — during regular business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Museum of Anthropology is located in Old Main room 252. Parking is available in the Terrace parking structure, adjacent to the Taggart Student Center. The museum can validate parking. The sister exhibit is housed in a large case in the foyer of the Kent Concert Hall in the Chase Fine Arts Center.

 

“The Museum of Anthropology has grown recently as the result of generous monetary and gift-in-kind donations from individuals like Geniel Loveless, as well as businesses throughout Cache Valley,” museum director Pitblado said. “We thank all of our donors and friends for helping us fulfill our mission to teach Utah State students and the public about the dynamic field of anthropology — the study of all people, everywhere, through all time.”

 

The museum welcomes future donations. Pitblado and Lundberg invite anyone interested in donating objects, time, or funds to support student projects and other ventures to contact the museum at (435) 797-7545 or by email at anthmuse@cc.usu.edu.

 

Contact: Sara Lundberg, museum coordinator (435) 797-7545, anthmuse@cc.usu.edu

Writer: Patrick Williams (435) 797-1354, patrick.williams@usu.edu