Tafoya, Margaret – Red Three Fox Handles Fully Polished Bowl (1940s)
$ 8,800.00
This piece by Margaret Tafoya is one that is fascinating on both a historic and research level. Since I wrote “Born of Fire” in 2005, I have seen hundred of pieces by Margaret Tafoya. I have seen numerous pieces attributed to her with animal handles. However, this (and the black oval 2 fox bowl), are the only signed ones I have ever seen. Not only are they signed, but they are each in very good condition. The bowl is round in shape and has three foxes as handles. The exterior and interior are both fully polished, as is each fox. Note in the photos how they are placed, which is perfect opposition to one another. There is something genius about both the design and style of this piece. The bowl was polished red and fired a deep red coloration. You can see the small areas of black, which almost make me this that her mother, Sarafina Tafoya, helped to fire this piece. Sarafina would often take a hot stick and touch it to the red pieces to create a mark as she said that only God was perfect. That the bowl survived the firing, and nearly 100 years intact, is amazing! It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair. It is signed on the bottom, “Margaret Tafoya” in the clay. Simply a spectacular piece of history and a significant rarity among her work. In addition, it finally helps to define the style of Margaret’s fox handles on her pottery and is certainly one of her important early redware pieces.
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This piece by Margaret Tafoya is one that is fascinating on both a historic and research level. Since I wrote “Born of Fire” in 2005, I have seen hundred of pieces by Margaret Tafoya. I have seen numerous pieces attributed to her with animal handles. However, this (and the black oval 2 fox bowl), are the only signed ones I have ever seen. Not only are they signed, but they are each in very good condition. The bowl is round in shape and has three foxes as handles. The exterior and interior are both fully polished, as is each fox. Note in the photos how they are placed, which is perfect opposition to one another. There is something genius about both the design and style of this piece. The bowl was polished red and fired a deep red coloration. You can see the small areas of black, which almost make me this that her mother, Sarafina Tafoya, helped to fire this piece. Sarafina would often take a hot stick and touch it to the red pieces to create a mark as she said that only God was perfect. That the bowl survived the firing, and nearly 100 years intact, is amazing! It is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair. It is signed on the bottom, “Margaret Tafoya” in the clay. Simply a spectacular piece of history and a significant rarity among her work. In addition, it finally helps to define the style of Margaret’s fox handles on her pottery.
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Tafoya, Margaret (1904-2001)
Margaret Tafoya
Margaret Tafoya is a daughter of noted potter Sara Fina Tafoya and a sister of Christina Naranjo and Camilio Tafoya. She is the matriarch of a family of renowned potters, each of whom created their distinctive styles. Margaret Tafoya had twelve children, eight of whom became potters. They include Virginia Ebelacker, Lee Tafoya, Toni Roller, LuAnn Tafoya, Mela Youngblood, Jennie Trammel, Mary Ester Archuleta, and Shirley Tafoya. Her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren carry on the pottery-making tradition today. Margaret Tafoya was a guardian of traditional pottery-making methods and techniques. She created large vessels with stone polished surfaces. Her carving was done before the piece was polished. She produced her work from the 1920s through the 1980s. Margaret Tafoya won numerous awards throughout her career, including Best of Show at Santa Fe Indian Market in 1979 and 1980. She was also awarded the Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984.The book, "Born of Fire," follows her life and art over many decades. It is also the only book to identify her pottery by the decade produced using the variations in her signature. This book is the first complete biography of Margaret Tafoya's life. It is divided into decades, giving the reader a deeper understanding of her life and pottery over nearly 100 years. There are new biographies on Virginia Ebelacker, Richard Ebelacker, Lee Tafoya, Linda Tafoya, Jennie Trammel, Mela Youngblood, Nathan Youngblood, Nancy Youngblood, Toni Roller, Jeff Roller, LuAnn Tafoya, Daryl Whitegeese, Mary Ester Archuleta, and Shirley Tafoya. The photography of the pottery in this book is exceptional. Throughout the book, personal narratives by family members and family photographs create a wonderful sense of her humanity and artistic accomplishments.
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