Legoria Tafoya Polished Blackware Candlestick Pair

This pair of blackware candlesticks was created by Legoria Tafoya of Santa Clara Pueblo. Their bases have an arrowhead shape. From their ends, looped handles curve up and in, meeting the pairs of braided clay coils that form the stems. The braided coils join up above to form rounded cups, which will hold candles.

These are beautifully shaped pieces of pottery, and their appeal is enhanced by the highly polished surface. The smooth, glassy slip works together with the twisting coil form to create pieces that interact with light in an engaging manner. Legoria Tafoya was clearly working at a high level when she made these candlesticks.

The bottom of one candlestick is signed Legoria, Sta Clara Pueblo.

Legoria Tafoya (1911-1984), painter Pablita Velarde, and potter Jane Baca were sisters. Legoria was the oldest and Pablita the youngest. Legoria devoted her career to making traditional black pottery in the Santa Clara Pueblo style, as did Baca. They were taught the art of pottery making by their grandmother in the 1930s. Legoria's early works were mostly animal figurines, which came to be extremely popular with tourists. She went on to become a celebrated potter, winning many awards and placing works in prominent collections. All three sisters exhibited at Enchanted Mesa Gallery in Albuquerque, which was owned by Fred and Margarete Chase.

Condition: good condition with a few small abrasions, one of which penetrates the slip

Provenance: this Legoria Tafoya Polished Blackware Candlestick Pair is from a private collection

Reference: Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Pablita Velarde, pottery, Albuquerque, figurines, Santa Clara Pueblo, Santa Fe, Legoria Tafoya