Severa Tafoya was a sister of Van Gutierrez and her children included Angela Baca, Tonita Tafoya, and Lydia Tafoya.  Other direct descendants include Paul Speckled Rock, Ray Tafoya, Tina Garcia, Greg Garcia, Robert Cleto Nichols, Jennifer Tafoya, and Jason Garcia. She was known for her polychrome and carved pottery along with her more traditional shapes and designs.  This is one of her classic shapes, a small storage jar with a round body and a short neck. There are four bear paws impressed into the clay before the jar was polished.  Each potter at Santa Clara had a distinctive style of a bear paw. Note how Severa has a paw with long, sharp fingers.  The entire piece is fully polished and fired a deep black.  It is signed on the back in the clay, “Severa”.   I left on the original “tag” of $10.00!  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration, or repair.