From a prestigious collection comes, perhaps, the most perfect, historic San Ildefonso storage jar I’ve ever seen. It is one of a handful of pottery items that the esteemed Indian art dealer Martha Struever acquired to keep in her own collection. In fact, I gasped when Marti asked me to help sell this jar, so dear to her heart for so long. This jar has all the earmarks of the great early potter/painter couple Martina and Florentino. Its dramatically low, rounded wide mid-body is a thing of beauty; masterful in design and execution. The surface, apparently stone polished is velvety and lovely. Then Florentino’s painted design are crisp painterly, traditional yet modern and show many of his signature elements such as curving bisected leaf forms, Kiva steps with negative leaf forms at the rim, etc. The paint, rich and consistent. But it is the overall synthesis of all of this; a classic and majestic work where form and painted design are in complete and masterful harmony. A pueblo pottery masterpiece from a major collection. Condition: Excellent and original Provenance: From the personal collection of Martha Hopkins Struever