Pottery
Sioux Redware Pottery by Red Starr Sunface and Bears "83 J-1"
$890.00
Artist Sioux
Elmer Red Starr
Biography
The life and work of Elmer Red Starr
At a glance
Elmer Red Starr (also known as Red Starr or Red Starr “Elk”) was a prominent Sioux (Lakota) potter (1937–2018).
Born: 1937 into the Sioux Nation (some sources specify Wisconsin).
Died: 2018.
He was a full-blooded Native American artist who married Harriet Tafoya of Santa Clara Pueblo (New Mexico).
He learned traditional Pueblo pottery techniques (hand-coiling, polishing, and firing) from his wife in the 1970s–1980s and became an active potter from then onward.
Red Starr is known for creating high-quality Santa Clara-style blackware pottery with his own distinctive Sioux-inspired elements:
Intricate incised (sgraffito) designs featuring animals (buffalo, deer, birds), feathers, bear paws, warriors, and traditional motifs.
Highly polished surfaces.
Miniature pots and wedding vases are especially collectible.
He signed his work as “Red Starr” with an arrow, the word “Sioux”, and a date/number.
Collection
Works by Elmer Red Starr
Archive
Previously sold
Pieces by Elmer Red Starr now in private collections, kept here for reference.
