Santa Clara Pueblo Blackware Pottery By Ramona Sisneros

ca. 1960s

3.25" H x 7" D

Hand Coiled with a Deep Carved Avanyu Motif and a Glossy Finish with Matte Carved Area

In Very Good Condition

Ramona Sisneros (1928–2013) was a Santa Clara Pueblo potter known for creating traditional blackware pieces, often featuring carved Avanyu designs. Her work appears in collections, auctions, and galleries specializing in Native American pottery (e.g., Len Wood's Indian Territory, various auction houses like LiveAuctioneers and Bradford's). She signed her pieces, typically on the bottom, and produced items like bowls, jars, and vases in the mid-20th century style.

Santa Clara (one of the Northern Tewa Pueblos) has a long history of pottery-making, with blackware becoming especially prominent in the 20th century through deep-carved designs and a distinctive polished black finish.The black color results from a traditional firing process: pots are polished when damp for a high sheen, then smothered in a reducing atmosphere (often with manure or dung) during firing, where carbon from the smoke infuses the clay to create the deep black surface. The Avanyu motif (also spelled Awanyu) is one of the most iconic designs in Pueblo pottery, particularly at Santa Clara. It depicts a horned or plumed water serpent, a powerful Tewa symbol associated with water, rain, lightning, fertility, and life-giving forces (including blood and water). The serpent often appears in flowing, undulating curves suggestive of rivers or lightning bolts, with a horned/plumed head and sometimes geometric elements. This motif was popularized in modern carved blackware by influential potters like Margaret Tafoya (1904–2001) and appears widely across Santa Clara works.