Maria Martinez is the most famous Native American Potter of our time. Maria was born Maria Antonia Montoya ca. 1887 in San Ildefonso Pueblo. She married Julian Martinez in 1904. The technique developed by Maria and her husband, Julian, to have both matte and glossy finishes on her black pottery made them world famous. They demonstrated their art at the 1904 St.Louis World's Fair, the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, and the 1934 Chicago's World's Fair. After Julian's death in 1943, Maria started to work with her daughter-in-law, Santana. After 1956 she also worked with her son Popovi Da. Her pottery is collected all over the world. Maria signed her pieces many different ways. Marie was first used because she was told it would be more familiar to the tourists buying her pottery. She also used, Po ve ka, Maria Poveka, Marie + Julian, Marie + Santana, Maria /Popovi