Santa Clara Pueblo Pottery By Domengita Naranjo

ca. 1980

4.25" H x 7.75" D

Hand Coiled from Redware Poly Chrome with a Matte Neck and a Carved Zigzag Design

From a Private Colorado Collection

In Very Good Condition

Dominguita Sisneros Naranjo (born 1942) is a well-documented potter, though she is from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo), a neighboring Tewa pueblo. She learned from her mother, Tomasita Montoya, and is known for traditional incised and carved pottery, including Potsuwi'i-style pieces. Some sources list her work in mixed pueblo pottery collections that include Santa Clara pieces, which may cause occasional confusion.

Santa Clara Pueblo pottery is renowned for its traditional hand-coiled techniques, deep carving (sgraffito), highly polished surfaces, and distinctive blackware (achieved through a reduction firing process) or redware styles. The Naranjo family is one of the most prominent and influential pottery dynasties at Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico, with multiple generations producing exceptional work. Matriarchs like Christina Naranjo (1891–1980) and Rose Naranjo (1915–2004) helped innovate carved designs, influencing descendants including Teresita Naranjo, Jody Naranjo, Tammy Garcia, and others known for intricate avanyu (water serpent) motifs, geometric patterns, and innovative forms.