Santa Clara - Pot (5) - Clay

Exclusive Collectible Authentic Native American Pottery (Pueblo Blackware) – 5 Hand-Signed Master Pieces from New Mexico, USA

For sale: an exceptional, museum-grade collection of five authentic, handmade ceramic artworks (Blackware) from the world-renowned Santa Clara Pueblo and San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico, United States. This collection is carefully assembled and includes pieces from respected, prize-winning Indigenous master potters whose work represents generations of family tradition.

This pottery is acclaimed worldwide for being made entirely with ancient, prehistoric techniques. There is no potter’s wheel, kiln, or chemical glaze involved.

Each piece is hand-built from locally sourced clay dug on sacred Pueblo lands, shaped using the coiling method (rolled clay).
The deep, mirror-like or metallic sheen is not created by glaze but by hours of hand-polishing the surface with a smooth, flowing river stone before the clay dries.
The charcoal-black and silver-gray color is achieved during an intensive outdoor firing process. The open flame is covered (smothered) at its hottest moment with liquid manure. This allows the carbon to penetrate deeply into the clay, producing the distinctive blackware color.

All five pieces are in excellent condition, fully authentic, and bear the original, clay-scarred signature of the respective artist on the unglazed bottom.

1. Celes Tafoya – Santa Clara Pueblo Blackware Pot/Bowl
• Artist: Celes (Celestina) Tafoya (1931–2011), a respected name within the influential and historically important Tafoya family.
• Origin: Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, USA.
• Features: This classic piece boasts a mirror-smooth, hand-polished surface with a deep, jet-black luster. The bottom is hand-signed with "Celes / Sta. Clara / Pueblo".

• Dimensions: 9.5 x 10 cm

2. Greg Garcia – Santa Clara Pueblo High-Polish Blackware Mini-Olla
• Artist: Greg Garcia (1961–2010), prize-winning standout talent and grandson of the legendary Severa Tafoya.
• Origin: Santa Clara Pueblo / Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, USA.
• Features: This piece showcases Garcia’s absolute mastery of symmetry and his renowned high-polish finish. The deep, metallic reflection is typical of his rarer small vases and ollas. Hand-signed on the bottom: "Greg Garcia / Santa Clara".

• Dimensions: 9.5 x 9 cm

3. Pauline Cata (Martinez) – Dated San Ildefonso Pueblo Pottery (1984)
• Artist: Pauline Martinez (born 1950 as Pauline Cata / Pauline Tafoya), daughter of Cresencia Tafoya (Santa Clara) and married into the famous Maria Martinez family (San Ildefonso).
• Origin: San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, USA.
• Features: A unique historical transitional piece from her early period after moving to San Ildefonso, blending techniques from both legendary pueblos. Beautifully deep black, polished, and clearly, crisply signed and dated on the bottom: "Pauline Cata / San Ildefonso / Pueblo / 1984".

• Dimensions: 8 x 10 cm

4. Linda Askan – Santa Clara Pueblo Geometrically Carved Blackware Vase
• Artist: Linda Askan (Tewa name: Jo Povi / Cactusbloem), educated by the renowned Adelaide Silva Sisneros.
• Origin: Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, USA (Summer Clan).
• Features: This piece combines a flawless mirror-polished neck and base with sharp, clean geometric incisions carved into the clay. Hand-signed on the underside with "Linda / Santa / Clara".

• Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 cm

5. Leona Baca – Santa Clara Pueblo Miniature 'Melon Pot' (Melon Pot)
• Artist: Leona Baca (born 1958), daughter of Angela Baca—the absolute pioneer and worldwide matriarch of the melon-pot style.
• Origin: Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, USA.
• Features: A stunning miniature masterwork. The pot is hand-formed in the characteristic, flowing vertical ribs that mimic a melon or pumpkin. Intensively polished with stone to a deep metallic sheen. The bottom bears her distinctive, robust scratched signature: "LEONA / BACA".

• Dimensions: 2.5 x 3.7 cm