Linda Tafoya-Sanchez Black Jar with Hawk Moths [SOLD]

This pottery vessel exhibits the precise craftsmanship characteristic of Linda Tafoya-Sanchez, combining traditional Santa Clara Pueblo blackware techniques with intricate sgraffito, shell inlay, and silver accents.

The jar is a classic rounded form with a short neck and high-gloss mirror polish achieved through traditional hand-burnishing with smooth stones. The surface features deep relief carving partitioned into vertical panels. Within each panel, stylized insects — specifically winged pollinators-are relief — carved with fluid, sweeping curves. Detailed cross-hatching and fine line work fill sections of the background and wings.

The eyes of each creature are inlaid with small, vibrant shells in alternating shades (green, turquoise, purple/red, and clear/sparkling).

Silver miniature beads highlight wings of one moth, creating crisp contrast against the dark polished clay. Sparkling shells are inlaid in the body of another. The shell sparkles like glass beads. Each panel showcases a unique pose or variation of the pollinating insect in flight, surrounded by stylized cloud or wind flourishes that give the vessel dynamic motion when viewed from all angles.

The flying creature depicted is a Hawk Moth, a vital nocturnal pollinator of sacred tobacco plants. Members of the Sphingidae family, these swift, nectar-feeding insects possess the extraordinary ability to hover seamlessly in midair, much like a hummingbird. In Pueblo culture and Native artistic traditions, pollinators are deeply entwined with themes of water, rain, fertility, and agricultural renewal. The depiction of such creatures highlights the essential, life-giving connection between the natural world, cultivated crops, and the enduring cycles of the seasons. 

When Linda brought this jar to the gallery, she stated that after noticing a moth visiting their tobacco plants, she decided to place a likeness on this jar. She stated that it only appears at night and seems to be pollinating the tobacco. She was correct as the moth is a tobacco pollinator.

Condition: new

Provenance: this Linda Tafoya-Sanchez Black Jar with Hawk Moths is directly from the artist on 04 September 2026.

Recommended Reading: Pueblo Indian Pottery 750 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Lee and Betty Tafoya, Margaret Tafoya, Contemporary Southwest Indian Pottery, Linda Tafoya Sanchez, Mary Ester Archuleta