The family of Julian Martinez is credited for inventing a revolutionary technique that would allow for areas of the pottery to have a matte finish and other areas to be a glossy jet black, and together with Edgar Lee Hewett (an archaeologist and anthropologist whose focus was the Native American communities of New Mexico and the southwestern United States) researched historical designs and reproduced them on the pottery.
Julian Martinez, also known as Pocano (18791943), was a San Ildefonso Pueblo potter, painter, and the patriarch of one of the most important family of Native American ceramic artists in the United States. The Martinez family is credited for inventing a revolutionary technique that would allow for areas of the pottery to have a matte finish and other areas to be a glossy jet black. Martinez, with help from anthropologist, Edgar Lee Hewett researched historical designs and reproduced them on the pottery, later modifying classical Pueblo designs to create his own. Martinez was instrumental in reviving the San Ildefonso and creating the San Ildefonso black-on-black, matte-on-shiny pottery technique. 
