María Montoya Martínez made this black-on-black jar in the traditional way, gathering and mixing local clay with volcanic ash (also found on the pueblo), then building up the basic form with coils of clay that she scraped and smoothed with a gourd tool. Once it had dried and hardened, the clay was polished with a small stone. Julian Martínez used yucca-frond brushes to paint the designs on with slip (liquid clay), producing a matte surface that makes a subtle, sensuous contrast with the highly polished areas. Then the pot was fired in a hand-built kiln using wood and dried manure for fuel, cutting off the supply of oxygen halfway through the process, so that the pot would turn black from the carbon smoke.

It is precisely that contrast, between glassy and flat black surfaces, plus the unusual silhouette of the vessel, that makes this pot so visually exciting. The painted designs, while abstract, nevertheless suggest certain natural forms and relate harmoniously to the proportions and overall style of the jar.