Black Polished Santa Clara Pueblo Wall Sconce [SOLD]

Residents of Santa Fe were enchanted with their nearby Native residents of Santa Clara Pueblo, only 20 miles north of the Capitol city. Many Santa Feans decorated their homes with functional pueblo pottery items—such as candlesticks, table lamps, salt and pepper shakers, napkin holders, etc. These items added a soft touch to otherwise rather sparse interiors of homes during the Great Depression (of the 1930s).

There were probably a number of potters from Santa Clara who were willing to supply these items for the Santa Fe homes, even such well-known ones as Margaret Tafoya and her mother, Sara Fina Tafoya. Although this wall sconce was not signed by the artisan, it is quite similar to one illustrated on page 46 of Blair^* (see below) accredited to Geronimo Tafoya, Margaret Tafoya’s father. It is well documented that Sara Fina and Margaret also made them.

This sconce is in very good condition. It probably dates to the 1930s period and most probably was made by a member of the Tafoya family; however, we have no documentation to substantiate this.

COMMENTS: Some experts have contended that smothering pottery during the firing process creates a carbon smoke that penetrates the pottery, turning it black. Even though several books describing black pueblo pottery attribute the color change to carbon, the reduction of iron oxide is the correct mechanism. Ceramicists, describing ancient styles of Old World pottery, state that iron impurities in clay form red oxide at red heat, but if air is lacking during firing, iron impurities in clay form black magnetite.