Florentino Martinez and Family
We created this page to honor the love that Challis had for the Zuni carvers. Among those was Florentino Martinez. "Tino", a man of about 50 years, was married to Harrietta Byers. Together, they had five children. Unfortunately, they divorced in 2012.
Tino has been carving ever since the early 1980s. He has always loved delicate fetishes with superb detail - dragonflies with delicate wings, dancers with finely carved weapons, etc. - but these are all too delicate to ship. Traders have encouraged him to carve sturdier pieces, such as an animal guarding a pueblo, etc. For Tino, detail is paramount.
Eric Martinez in Florentino Martinez's eldest son. Eric's carvings have been steadily improving. Some of his best pieces rival those of his father.
