Santa Clara Pueblo Bird Pottery By Toni Roller

Mid/Late 20th Century

1.875" H x 4.6875" L x 3.125" W

Hand Coiled from Natural Clay and Stone Polished to a High Sheen

In Very Good Condition

Toni Roller is a renowned, award-winning potter from Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, born on May 29, 1935. She is part of one of the most prestigious pottery families in Pueblo tradition: the daughter of the legendary Margaret Tafoya (1904–2001), a National Heritage Fellowship recipient, and the granddaughter of matriarch Sara Fina Tafoya. Toni learned the craft directly from her mother, starting as a child, and has been creating pottery since around 1960. She is known for her strict adherence to traditional methods—digging and processing natural clay, hand-coiling forms, stone-polishing to a high sheen, deep carving (sgraffito) of designs, and outdoor firing—which results in the signature polished blackware (or occasionally redware) of Santa Clara Pueblo.

Toni Roller emphasizes traditional designs passed down from her mother, including motifs like the avanyu (water serpent), bear paws (a classic Santa Clara symbol from a legend of a bear leading people to water), feathers, geometric patterns, and more. While bird motifs aren't her most frequently documented signature design (unlike the more common avanyu or bear paw), she has created pieces featuring birds or related imagery, such as stylized bird figures or elements in her carved work. Santa Clara pottery often incorporates avian-inspired or feather designs, reflecting the pueblo's rich symbolic heritage.