Santa Clara Pottery - Large Wedding Jar by Nicolasa Naranjo

 ca. 1970

13" H x 9"  D

Hand coiled clay pottery

Very Good Condition

Nicolasa Naranjo (1907–2002) was a noted potter from Santa Clara Pueblo (Kha’p’oo Owinge), New Mexico.  She was the daughter of Tomacita (or Tomasita) Naranjo and Agapito Naranjo, the granddaughter of the renowned potter Sara Fina (or Sarafina) Tafoya, and a cousin of the famous potter Margaret Tafoya. Her mother, Tomacita (Margaret Tafoya’s oldest sister), helped teach pottery-making skills in the family but died during the 1918 flu pandemic before she could fully train Nicolasa or Margaret. As a result, Nicolasa learned primarily through family tradition and developed her own approach.

She had a long and productive career spanning much of the 20th century. She is best known for traditional Santa Clara blackware pottery, with occasional redware pieces. Early in her career (and especially noted in the early 1970s), she produced more redware; she shifted toward blackware more prominently by the early 1980s. Because deep carving had not yet become widespread when she began, she often decorated her pots with painted designs (typically matte black paint on a polished surface). Common forms included jars, bowls, wedding vases, and other vessels, sometimes featuring traditional motifs such as the avanyu (water serpent).

Late in her career, she frequently collaborated with her youngest daughter, Roberta Naranjo (born 1946). Pieces from this period are often co-signed by both. Her work is collected and appears in galleries specializing in Native American pottery as well as at auctions.