Santa Clara Pueblo Blackware Pottery By Teresa Gutierrez

Late 20th Century

1.75" H x 2" D

Hand Coiled Blackware with Carved Avaynu Water Serpent Motif Design with Handle

From a Private Colorado Collection

In Very Good Condition

Teresa Gutierrez (also spelled Theresa or Teresa V. Gutierrez, born 1933) is a respected Santa Clara Pueblo potter known for her precisely carved blackware pottery. Born in 1933 to Rosita Velarde (a noted Santa Clara potter), she learned the craft by watching and assisting her mother. She is credited with developing or popularizing a distinctive contemporary style of deeply carved blackware featuring sharp, clean lines often outlined with matte black paint for contrast against the polished black surface.  Traditional process: Hand-coiled with native clay, stone-burnished, carved with designs (such as Avanyu/serpent, geometric patterns, eagles, rain/mesa motifs, or birds), and pit-fired to achieve the black finish.