Santa Clara Pueblo Black Candleholders with Bear Figurine [SOLD]

Candlesticks have been popular items with collectors since the mid-1900s. Many households featured them during the dinner hour, particularly in and around Santa Fe. This set was fashioned to hold two candles, but was made in a less formal manner than most by placing a bear between the two candles. The workmanship is above average.

It is not signed, however, members of Margaret Tafoya's (Santa Clara Pueblo) family are known to have made candleholders with bears as handles, but it is not known if anyone in the family made this pair.

Condition:  they are in excellent condition with evidence of actual use and some minor scratches and abrasions.

Provenance: from a Santa Fe collector of pueblo pottery

Recommended Reading: Collections of Southwestern Pottery: Candlesticks to Canteens, Frogs to Figurines, by Allan Hayes, et al.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery.