Aim for FiveArt History

Short essay: continuity and change

Continuity and change: black-on-black pottery

  • Unit 5
  • 5 points
  • About 15 minutes

You describe a required work (image provided) and explain how it continues, and how it changes, an earlier artistic tradition, style or practice. You often also explain how the work could be interpreted. On the exam: Section II, question 6 of 6: a short essay on a work from the image set (image provided), with a suggested 15 minutes.

The question and its sources

Short essay: continuity and change. Suggested time: 15 minutes. On the exam you would see a color image of the work; here it is described in words. Answer each part in complete sentences. The work described is a Black-on-black ceramic vessel by Maria Martínez and Julian Martínez, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, c. mid-20th century CE, blackware ceramic.

The work, described in words

A round, wide-shouldered jar with a smaller opening at the top. Its walls are thin and evenly curved.

Almost the whole surface is a deep black polished so highly that it shines and reflects light like a mirror.

A wide band around the shoulder of the jar is decorated in matte (dull, unpolished) black with stylized feather shapes and stepped geometric forms. The design shows up only as the contrast between shiny and dull black, not as a different color.

There are no handles. The jar was built by hand, not on a potter's wheel.

Source: Description written for this practice question. It describes features typical of the Martínezes' black-on-black jars. On the exam you would see a color image of the work instead.

Suggested time: 15 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Describe the form and decoration of the vessel.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (b)

1 point

Describe one material or technique used to create the vessel.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (c)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain how the vessel demonstrates continuity with earlier Pueblo artistic traditions.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (d)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain how the vessel demonstrates change from earlier Pueblo artistic traditions.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (e)

1 point

Using specific visual or contextual evidence, explain one way the vessel has been interpreted in relation to the market for Native American art in the 20th century.

0 / 2,500 characters

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