Legoria Tafoya was a sister of noted painter Pablita Velarde. She was the mother of noted potter Celes Tafoya. This is one of her few redware pieces.  It is polished red and painted with red clay and outlined with white clay.  It is called a “red-on-red with white outline”.  It was a popular style at Santa Clara Pueblo in the 1950s, but was time-consuming and the white clay slip didn’t always fire well.  This plate has a cloud pattern with cloud and rainbow designs.  The white that was used to outline the designs might either be worn off, or more likely, was fugitive (which means that it did not adhere when fired. It is signed on the back in the clay, Legoria”.  It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.