Santa Clara Pueblo Polished Black Pottery Jar with Bear Paw Design by Toni Roller [SOLD]

This black pottery jar by award-winning Santa Clara Pueblo artist Toni Roller uses a classic Santa Clara Pueblo design motif: the bear paw.  Roller’s ancestors Margaret Tafoya and Sara Fina Tafoya are widely credited with popularizing this design, and it continues to be used frequently by today’s Santa Clara potters.  Of today’s Santa Clara artists, Toni Roller is one of the most widely collected. This piece, with its appealing shape and near-perfect polish, illustrates why she’s so highly regarded.  Two bear paw impressions decorate the jar’s exterior.

The jar is signed Toni Roller, Santa Clara Pueblo and dated 4-81 (April, 1981). 

Award-winning Santa Clara Pueblo artist Toni Roller (1935- ) is part of a Santa Clara family that has excelled at the craft of pottery making. Toni Roller is the granddaughter of famous matriarch Sara Fina Tafoya, and the daughter of Margaret Tafoya. Her sisters were also potters: Virginia Ebelacker, Jennie Trammell, Mela Youngblood, LuAnn Tafoya, Mary Esther Archuleta, and Shirley Tafoya. She also had two brothers: Lee and Meldon. Toni has made pottery since around 1960 and continues to produce today. She is a perfectionist, and her work is consistently excellent.

Condition: this Santa Clara Pueblo Polished Black Pottery Jar with Bear Paw Design by Toni Roller is in very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of John Barry, author of pueblo pottery books.

Recommended Reading: American Indian Pottery: An Identification and Value Guide by John W. Barry

Relative Links: Santa Clara Pueblo, Sara Fina Tafoya, Margaret Tafoya, Virginia Ebelacker, Jennie Trammell, Mela Youngblood, Luann Tafoya, Shirley Tafoya, Toni Roller