Tafoya, Pasqualita – Jar with Carved Rain and Mesa Designs (1930s)

5"w x 5"h

$ 600.00

Pasqualita Tafoya was the only sister of noted potter SaraFina Tafoya.  She was also the matriarch of a family of renowned potters.  Her early pottery was primarily carved vessels with some unusual styles of carved patterns.  By the 1940s she began painting pottery vessels instead of carving.  This jar has a sharp shoulder and a sloping side.  It has rain, cloud, and lightning designs carved in the negative space of the jar.  It is signed on the bottom in the clay, “Pasqualita Tafoya”.  Interestingly, there are numerous variations on the spelling of her name depending on the time period when they were made.  The jar is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  Definitely a rarity but also a fascinating part of Santa Clara Pueblo pottery history!