The Martinez family’s artistic innovations exemplify the ways Pueblo pottery transformed in the twentieth century. Maria Martinez first learned to make pottery around 1900 from watching her aunt, as was customary for this matrilineal tradition. Two decades later, she collaborated with her husband Julian Martinez and later her son Popovi Da, to create the painted black-on-black designs seen here. Their grandson, Tony Da, became one of the first men to make Pueblo pottery after learning from his grandmother at mid-century. His designs combine inspiration from prehistoric Mimbres pottery of the American Southwest with contemporary styles and techniques.