Santa Clara Pueblo Bear Pottery By Margaret and Luther

Mid/Late 20th Century

3" H x 1.5" L x 2.625" W

Hand Coiled Brown Bear with Painted Black, White and Red Bear Geometric Features

Excellent Condition with Fading

Margaret and Luther Gutierrez were a renowned brother-and-sister pottery team from Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico. Luther (1911–1987) and Margaret (1936–2018) were children of the innovative potters Lela and Van Gutierrez, and they carried forward the family's distinctive polychrome style—using a wide range of natural clay slips in colors like tan, red, green, black, and more.

While Santa Clara Pueblo is famous for its blackware and carved redware (often featuring the symbolic bear paw imprint, representing strength and water), Margaret and Luther specialized in vibrant polychrome vessels and, especially from the 1970s onward, whimsical figurative pottery, including animal figures such as bears, bear storytellers (mama bear with cubs), owls, beavers, and turtles.

Their bear pottery often depicts mama bears with cubs, hand-coiled, painted with playful polychrome designs, and pit-fired in the traditional method. These pieces are highly collectible for their charm and unique color palette, setting them apart from the pueblo's more common monochrome styles.