Tonita Roybal

San Ildefonso Pueblo

Tonita Roybal was one of the early well-known potters from San Ildefonso. Had Maria Martinez not earned such fame, Tonita surely would have been as famous: her work was acknowledged to be as fine as Maria's.

Tonita learned to make pottery from her mother, Dominguita Pino Martinez (1860-1948). Her brother, Cresencio Martinez (1879-1918), married Maria's sister Anna Montoya. Tonita was also an aunt to Santana Roybal, who later married Maria's son Adam Martinez.

Dominguita Martinez was famous for her black-on-red style of pottery, and this was a style which Tonita mastered early on. After 1920 and the advent of black-on-black pottery, Tonita innovated the red-on-red style with the white outlines.

Both Tonita and Juan were fascinated by pre-historic pottery. Those designs and their influences can often be seen in their work. After 1913 she began merging the layout of Nampeyo's Sikyátki Revival style with elements from Acoma and elsewhere. By 1925 Tonita was at the peak of her career, then she died an early death in 1945.

Tonita was married twice. Her first husband was Alfredo Montoya (1890-1913). After he died she married Juan Cruz Roybal (1896-1990) in 1916.

Tonita began making pottery in 1909. Beginning in 1917, Juan started painting some of her pottery and after 1930 he painted the majority of her pieces. When Tonita made the pottery and did the painting, those pieces were signed "Tonita". When she made the vessel and it was painted by Juan, they were signed "Tonita and Juan".