A while back I was visiting my aunt in Santa Fe, and enjoying all there was to do in such an arts-filled town. While I plan on writing more about that later, this post relates to the fact that shortly after I returned home, I received a package from her which included this Native American pottery. It was something she had around the house, and she sent it as a gift.
I love it, and was very excited to have it, as I don’t own any other Native American pottery pieces. My assumption was that it was a mass-produced piece, or perhaps a replica of an older piece, but was curious to investigate and see if I could learn anything about it (my aunt didn’t have a recollection of when or where she got it, at least that’s my memory of our discussion about it). The first aspect of my inspection was to simply turn it over, where I saw this inscription on the bottom:
I could easily make out “Mary T.” but the next line took a few guesses before I came up with “Madalena.” The last line looked like “Jenny,” but the search result for Mary T. Madalena came up with “Jemez,” referring to the Jemez Pueblo.
Okay, so I’ve got a good start by identifying a specific artist working at a specific Pueblo, but what more can I come up with?
First of all, the Pueblo of Jemez is an Indigenous American tribe currently located 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque in New Mexico. Jemez is one of only 19 remaining Pueblos of New Mexico and includes over 89,000 acres of land which is home to approximately 3,400 tribal members. The Pueblo of Jemez is a sovereign nation with an independent government and tribal court system and uses the Towa language. Having never heard of the Towa language, that also sparks my curiosity, and I learned that it appears to be exclusive to the Jemez tribe and has no common written form, as tribal rules do not allow the language to be transcribed (I’m piecing this together from here).
Another thing I’ve found is that the Jemez people are internationally known for arts and crafts, including pottery such as bowls, pots, vessels, vases, figurines, ornaments, and more. I’m going to guess and assume that my aunt bought this piece while visiting the pueblo.
Now on to the main event, or question: what can I learn about Mary T. Madalena? It seems the Madalena family has a tradition of making pottery, as I see a reference to a “Reyes Madalena” being a Jemez Pueblo potter who learned from her grandmother, “Benina Medina Madalena.” I also see a reference to pottery by a “Martilla Madalena.” I do see plenty of auction and/or eBay listings for Mary T. Madalena pieces, but none so far have any biographical information. I do see one listing for a piece that is dated as being from the 1960s-1970s.
Gathering more clues: another site mentions that “Reyes Marie Madalena was born in the late 1930’s … her maternal grandmother, Benina Medina Madalena had been an excellent potter, winning awards in the early 1920’s at the Santa Fe Indian Market … Benina taught her daughters pottery.” Could Mary T. Madelena be a daughter of Benina? Or one of Reyes Marie’s siblings?
Here’s two more views of my piece by Mary T. Madelena from the Jemez Pueblo … if anyone reading this can fill me in on more details or share any helpful information, please do so in the comments section below – I’d love to learn more!
