Pueblo Celestina Naranjo Santa Clara Blackware Clay Feather Motif Pottery Pot For Sale

Up for sale is a beautifully detailed vintagetraditional Native American Santa Clara Pueblo hand coiled, formed & smoothed black polished ceramic pot with matte black feather designby Pueblo artist Celestina Tafoya Naranjo. *The pot looks like it does have some imperfections at the bottom, that didn\'t turn completely black when firing / drying, from inclusions in the clay, see pics* The pot measures 1 3/4\" tall and 2 3/8\" diameter. The piece is stamped on the bottom \"Celestina Naranjo Santa Clara\" see pics.This lovely collectible would display great in your home office desk, fireplace mantel, man cave, cabin, paperweight art decor or make a nice gift.Check out my other sales for more mid century & vintage collectibles, sculptures, statues, miniature pewter figurines,Schmid, Hudson, Michael Ricker, Boyd Perry, Lamb, Gallo, Rawcliffe, Tom Meier, Ral Partha, TSR, PAL, AD&D, D&D, RPG, Grenadier, GW Games Workshop Warhammer 40K, Citadel, Hallmark Little Gallery, Spoontiques and others.
A little background info on Celestina Naranjo & Pueblo Blackware Pottery:
Celestina Naranjo 1912-1991 was a noted Pueblo artist, daughter of Pasquilita \"Peggy\" Tafoya & niece to Sara Fina Tafoya, she is also passed on her skills as the matriarchto a family of noted Santa Clara pottery artists including Millie Naranjo, Sylvia Naranjo, and Joseph Clifford Naranjo. Celestina began making pottery around 1930 after years of learning from her well known family of traditional Pueblo ceramic artists. She is known for her redware, polychromes, and her blackware bowls & plates.Many steps are required to create the unique polished black pottery. The clay is first dug from the ground. The artist then adds \"temper\" in the form of fine sand, ground rock, and / or ground potsherds to the clay. This is an important step in the process so the clay will be strong enough to shape & not crack as it dries. Using a coil & scrape method, artists wrap & stack long coils of clay, and then smooth them inside & out to form a pot or bowl. While the clay is still damp, the artists sometimes carves or paints decorative designs onto the surface.Techniques used by the artists of Santa Clara sets them apart from pottery made by other artists. The trademark black polished surface is created by rubbing the still damp clay with a smooth polishing stone. Sometimes a liquid clay \"slip\" is also painted onto the surface to create an unpolished matte design. By using the polishing stone the clay & slip smooths into a bright black. This is a difficult step to achieve as too much pressure with scratch the surface & too little pressure will not create the desired sheen. This can only be done while the clay is still damp to avoid scratching the surface.After the pot has been polished, carved & decorated, it is left to dry slowly so that it will not crack. This technique is done by a reduction firing above ground with the pots placed on a metal grate or in metal containers. Wood & dried manure are placed on top, the pile of fuel is then lit and allowed to collapse onto the pottery. This smothers the pots, reducing the oxygen available. The last step add more powdered manure to the fire, reducing the oxygen even more, which creates the solid black pottery while retaining the high polish & slip design.
I acquire my items from local sales, estate sales etc...I try to describe them to the best of my ability for any damage. Please read descriptions & look at all pictures as they are also part of the description/condition and ask any questions. These vintage items are sold as is. All sales are final and All offers welcomed
Please check out my other sales I always combine shipping when possible just send me a message before paying and I will send you new invoice with combined shipping. Check back often for new listings!

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